DeMar DeRozan's OT heroics lift Bulls past Wolves

Field Level Media|published: Tue 6th February, 23:17 2024

Feb 6, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) defends Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan (11) during the first quarter at United Center. credits: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Coby White and DeMar DeRozan scored 51 of their 66 combined points after halftime as the host Chicago Bulls rallied for a 129-123 overtime win against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.

The Bulls trailed by as many as 23 points in the third quarter but recovered behind a turnaround on the defensive end and from long range. White drilled his seventh trey of the second half with 3:56 to go, drawing the Bulls to within 109-107.

He converted a three-point play with 2:28 left in regulation to give the Bulls a 112-110 lead, their first edge since the first quarter. Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns hit a trey to tie the game at 115 with 50.5 seconds left, but neither team was able to convert a potential game-winning look down the stretch.

In the extra session, DeRozan scored Chicago's first six points, including a go-ahead layup with 2:57 to go after which Minnesota never caught up. He finished with 10 points in OT.

White and DeRozan both scored 33 points. White tallied 30 points after the opening two quarters.

Anthony Edwards had 38 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for Minnesota, while Towns scored 33 points.

Andre Drummond notched 16 points and 16 rebounds for the Bulls. Nikola Vucevic added 24 points.

Chicago collected a season-high 16 blocks, getting four each from Alex Caruso, Drummond and Vucevic.

Minnesota's Rudy Gobert had 12 points and 16 rebounds, while Jaden McDaniels (13 points) and Naz Reid (10) also scored in double figures.

The Bulls shot 2-for-12 from 3-point range in the first half. However, sparked by White, Chicago outscored the Timberwolves 36-23 in the third quarter while connecting on 5 of 13 from beyond the arc.

Minnesota capitalized on a dominant effort from Edwards and hot shooting overall to take a 69-47 lead into intermission.

Edwards contributed 23 points, six rebounds and four assists while helping the Timberwolves to a 55.6 percent effort from the floor, including 52.6 percent from deep.

DeRozan scored 12 first-half points for Chicago. Starting alongside one another for the first time this season, Drummond had eight points and seven rebounds and Vucevic added six points.

Chicago extended its home winning streak in the series to five games — with three of those games going to overtime.

—Field Level Media