Minnesota put up an incredible fight, but in the end, the Chicago Bulls had their reigning MVP to close out the game that went into the final quarter--still up for 'grabs'. Chicago jumped out to an early lead that was powered by a 16-0 run. After the first quarter the Bull had a 33-17 advantage. However, the TWolves weren't going down without a fight. Adelman tossed his spark plug into the game and suddenly the game changed drastically! The Timberwolves outscored the Bulls 30-20 in the second quarter and ended the half on a 20-2 run, orchestrated by Ricky Rubio and executed by Anthony Randolph & Kevin Love! Chicago led by just six points after being up by 24 at one point. The Wolves were able to keep it close the entire second half, but in the end, Derrick Rose was the difference maker. He's always had that ability to "turn it on" when he needs to and he did so, with a 14-point fourth quarter. Minnesota lost 100-111 and moved to 3-7 on the year. Ricky Rubio had a great game. He registered his fourth double-double of the season with 13 points & 12 assists. Kevin Love also registered his tenth double-double of the season and is the only player to do so in every game played this season, he finished with 20 points & 13 rebounds. Let's take a look at some statistics for each team in tonight's loss...
Rub your eyes all you want. The Minnesota Timberwolves turned the ball over just 11 times, while forcing one of the League's very best teams into 18! The problem? Although Minnesota had just 11 turnovers, they still allowed Chicago to turn those into 18 points. Minnesota, did a great job of scoring off Chicago's turnovers as well. Chicago out-shot the Wolves from deep and from the field. They also tore up the paint, a +16 for the Bulls! The 18 fast break points for Minnesota is a season-high, impressive mark against such a team. Minnesota played well tonight, they were in the final game of a back-to-back-to-back and became the first team in the League to drop such a game. But, they battled, which is important. In the end, we can cheer and be happy we stuck with one of the top teams in the League, but at season's end--it's just another loss. Enough of the moral victories--not enough of the real ones... Let's take a look at some individual statistics for each team's key players tonight...
The Wolves got big production from their starting point guard. He's been awesome these past few games and very efficient, shooting 20-for-29 in their past two games. Ricky Rubio had another awesome night with plenty of assists and over 50% shooting. Kevin Love stepped up and had another solid night. It was a 20-13 night for the double-double machine--now with 10 in 10 games. Randolph made Adelman keep him on the court, he had a great game on both ends and he's certainly showing he's worthy of more minutes a game. Darko & Ellington both started, but played just 8 minutes in the game (all first quarter) and Johnson played just 9 minutes (all first quarter) in the game. I think a starting lineup change could be on the horizon.
Rose & Deng led the charge for Chicago. Rose showed why he's the reigning MVP and why he'll be a contender for that once again this season. And Deng hit a number of shots from mid-range with defenders all over him. Chicago was without Rip Hamilton for the game with a groin injury, in his place Brewer got the start and performed well. 14 of those 17 points came in the second half (7 each quarter). That's all for now. The Timberwolves are back in action against the Hornets on Friday and a full gameday preview can be found on this site before then. Stay tuned for some pictures and a video recap/highlights for tonight's game. Thanks for reading and GO WOLVES!
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Cody D. AndersonA Wolves fan bringing you Gameday Recaps all season long! 2014-15 Game ArchivesGameday Archives
December 2015
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