Timberwolves beat Bulls 150-126 to break team scoring mark

Share

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards had season highs with 37 points and 11 assists and the Minnesota Timberwolves broke the franchise record for points in a game, routing the Chicago Bulls 150-126 on Sunday night.

D’Angelo Russell added 28 points after missing two games and Minnesota made a season-high 23 pointers to roll past Chicago despite missing four regulars.

Rudy Gobert missed his second straight game because of a sprained left ankle. Karl-Anthony Towns (right calf strain) and top reserves Jordan McLaughlin (left calf strain) and Taurean Prince (right shoulder) also sat out.


Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine (8) shoots over Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)

Starting a four-game trip, Chicago lost its fourth straight and sixth in eight games.

DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 29 points, Nikola Vucevic added 23 and Zach LaVine had 22.

Edwards scored six points in a 9-1 surge for a 106-89 lead late in the third quarter. But Edwards saved his best shot of the quarter for a buzzer- beater.

With 2.1 seconds left, he stole an inbounds pass on the logo at center court, continued right and made a 32-foot pull-up jumper. As the ball went through the hoop to make it 113-97, Edwards turned to face the crowd and, after a couple of seconds of basking with a huge smile, began to high-five the fans.

Missing the past two games with a left knee contusion, Russell made seven of his eight first-half shots, including 6 of 7 from deep. That included a 34-foot desperation heave from the logo early in the second quarter as the shot clock expired.

TIP-INS

Bulls: Vucevic had nine rebounds. … Javonte Green missed the game with right knee soreness. He missed three games earlier this month with right knee pain. … Chicago is 4-11 on the road, including 1-7 against Western Conference opponents.

Timberwolves: Knight scored a season-high 16 points. … Naz Reid, who scored the first 10 Minnesota points, left in the second quarter with trapezius tightness. … Edwards had a steal to extend the NBA’s longest active streak of at least one steal to 16 games.


Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan (11) goes up to the basket against Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)

UP NEXT

Bulls: At Miami on Tuesday night.

Timberwolves: Host Dallas on Monday and Wednesday nights.

___

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports