Notebook: Bulls 102, Timberwolves 87 Peter Kapsner, for NBA Posted Wed Apr 09, 2014 11:17 PM - Updated Wed Apr 09, 2014 11:17 PM THE FACT: Joakim Noahs triple-double propelled the Bulls to their sixth straight victory. THE LEAD: Joakim Noah racked up 15 points, 13 boards and 11 assists to lead the Chicago Bulls to a hard-fought win over the short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves 102-87 on Wednesday night at Target Center. Six other Bulls scored in double figures while holding Kevin Love to just 17 points and 10 boards. D.J. Augustin led all scorers with 21 points off the bench, and Kirk Hinrich chipped in 15. The Wolves were coming off impressive wins over Miami, Memphis and San Antonio in the past seven days, but their stamina ran out against the relentless Bulls. After a tight first half, Chicago asserted itself in the third quarter with a 9-2 run out of the gate and a defense that held Minnesota to just 17 points in the quarter. Chicago kept the pressure on in the fourth with several mini-runs while taking Minnesota out of any offensive rhythm. The Bulls eventually pushed the lead to 16 en route to their sixth straight win, allowing them to keep pace with Toronto for the third seed in the East. QUOTABLE: I thought we started off the first half a little sluggish. The rebounding was poor. Our defense wasnt very good. The second half, things got a lot better. -- Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau TURNING POINT: Chicago was uncharacteristically dominated on the boards 26-12 in the first half, but Minnesota could only convert the extra opportunities into a five-point lead. The Bulls returned the favor in the second half, outrebounding the Wolves 25-15, but were much more efficient in turning the extra chances into points. THE STAT: The Bulls league-leading defense held the potent Wolves offense to nearly 20 points under its season average of 106.7 points. HOT: Noah tied Lance Stephenson for the league lead in triple-doubles this season with four. He is in line to become the first player to average over 10 points, 10 boards and five assists in a season since Kevin Garnett in 2004-2005. QUOTABLE II: It feels good to play well. I feel real comfortable making plays for my teammates, being aggressive when I have to. All this stuff is just giving me more confidence. -- Joakim Noah QUOTABLE III: Jo was terrific throughout. The best thing about him is the winning part of it. To me, thats what separates him from most. -- Tom Thibodeau GOOD MOVE: Thibodeau kept his typical tight rotation in place with seven players handling the bulk of the minutes. He rotated the seven masterfully to keep them fresh, and the Bulls never seemed to tire. BAD MOVE: The Wolves were playing without five of the top eight in their typical rotation, including starters Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Martin. Replacements Robbie Hummel, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Alexey Shved and Othyus Jeffers gave a game effort, but were ultimately overwhelmed by the Bulls. ROOKIE WATCH: Gorgui Dieng continues to look like a starting NBA center. Hes averaged a double-double -- 12 points, 11 boards -- in the last 13 games, and went for nine points, eight rebounds and three blocks against a tough interior opponent. INSIDE THE ARENA: Bulls fans were nearly as loud as the hometown Wolves crowd. Chicago leads the league in attendance with standing room-only crowds at United Center, but tickets at Target Center are easier to come by and a large contingent of Bulls faithful apparently made the seven-hour drive from Chi-town to Minneapolis to support their team. NOTABLE: The Bulls have now won 34 games since the start of the year, most in the NBA. ... Dante Cunningham, accused of felony assault and terrorist threats on his girlfriend in separate incidents, remained active Wednesday night and had six points in 12 minutes. ... Thibodeaus first NBA job was as an assistant coach to the late Bill Musselman for the expansion Timberwolves in 1989. UP NEXT: For the Wolves, Friday vs. Houston, Sunday @ Sacramento, Monday @ Golden State. For the Bulls, Friday vs. Detroit, Sunday @ New York, Monday vs. Orlando.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Apr 2014 04:51:17 +0000
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