T'wolves Beat Severely Short-Handed Bulls

By ESPN

Tom Thibodeau insisted this was just another game, that there were no hard feelings lingering or extra incentive added when facing the Chicago Bulls after such an acrimonious split in 2015.

The players on his new team and the players on his old team seem to think otherwise.

Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 22 to help the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the severely short-handed Bulls 117-89 on Sunday.

Ricky Rubio had 17 points, 11 assists and six rebounds and Minnesota shot 54 percent to help Thibodeau sweep the season series against his former team.

"It's always hard when you've been through things with people," Thibodeau said. "I really root for that team, those guys, particularly the ones I've coached before. I want them to do well except when we play against them. It's a great basketball city. It's a great organization. I had five great years there."

Doug McDermott scored 16 points and made four 3-pointers for the Bulls, who were missing Jimmy Butler, Dwyane Wade, Nikola Mirotic and Paul Zipser with injuries. The Bulls turned the ball over 18 times, were outrebounded 46-35 and were outscored 56-38 in the paint.

Thibodeau's contentious firing was well-documented, but much of the drama was addressed during Minnesota's visit to Chicago in December. The Timberwolves overcame a 21-point deficit to win that game, which started a 13-10 stretch that helped them climb back into the playoff picture in the muddled Western Conference.

"He has a good way of hiding stuff and that kind of emotion," Wiggins said when asked if Thibodeau got an extra charge out of beating the Bulls. "But I would if I was him."

And while the Wolves have taken another step back recently, that December meeting was a prime example of the dysfunction plaguing the Bulls since Thibodeau was fired. Injuries, a lack of shooting and team chemistry issues have weighed on them all season long as they try to stay afloat in the East.

Badly outmanned on Sunday, the Bulls were put away quickly. The Wolves led by 19 in the first quarter and 26 in the first half.

The Bulls made their first five 3-pointers of the third quarter to cut the deficit to 13, but Thibodeau kept his starters in deep into the fourth quarter to push the lead back to 30.

"I know him too well. When most people think it's not a big deal, it's a big deal to him," Bulls forward Taj Gibson said. "You see him coaching the whole game. He even left some of the guys in late. I can see his hand shaking from over there on our end. I know he really wanted to win that game."

Sunday, February 12 Scoreboard

Minnesota 117, Chicago 89

New York 94, San Antonio 90

Detroit 102, Toronto 101

Sacramento 105, New Orleans 99

Monday, February 13 Schedule (All Times Central)

Philadelphia at Charlotte, 6 p.m.

San Antonio at Indiana, 6 p.m.

Memphis at Brooklyn, 6:30 p.m.

Orlando at Miami, 6:30 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Washington, 7 p.m.

Detroit at Milwaukee, 7 p.m.

Boston at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.

Golden State at Denver, 8 p.m.

Los Angeles Clippers at Utah, 8 p.m.

New Orleans at Phoenix, 8 p.m.

Atlanta at Portland, 9:30 p.m.