The Minnesota Timberwolves have struggled as of late to hold onto the magic they had earlier in the season. But tonight they managed to find it once again as they beat the Chicago Bulls 95-86.
Kevin Lovescored 31 points, had 8 rebounds, 2 assists and went 14-for-14 from the foul line.Ronny Turiafadded 14 points off the bench, which was a season high for him. ReserveChase Budingeradded 12 points.
Jan 27, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love (42) shoots the ball past Chicago Bulls power forward Taj Gibson (22) during the second half at the United Center. The Timberwolves beat the Bulls 95-86. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports
Turiaf was put in the game after centerNikola Pekovicexited with a sore right Achilles tendon six minutes into the first quarter- Pekovic had one point and one rebound before exiting.
“They really persevere and play hard,” Love said. “They’re ready to go every single night because of their coach and they have players who really want it.”
This snaps a seven-game losing streak to the Bulls.
Carlos Boozerhad 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulls, who played without ailing centerJoakim Noah(illness) and guardKirk Hinrich(hamstring).D.J. Augustinadded 19 points.
The Bulls pulled within five with 1:29 left on Augustin’s 3-pointer but got no closer. Love answered with a layup with 1:10 remaining, andCorey Brewer’s dunk gave the Timberwolves an 88-79 lead with 57.4 seconds left.
But The Timberwolves dominated inside early and were up by 11 points in the first quarter before settling for a 23-20 advantage after one quarter. Love made back-to-back layups off feeds from J.J. Barea to open the second quarter and Chase Budinger nailed a 3-pointer to push the margin to 30-20 before Minnesota took a 54-46 lead into the break.
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