Bulls win second straight, halt Timberwolves' five-game streak

Norman Powell scored 23 points on 10-for-19 shooting, and the Chicago Bulls held on for a 117-106 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night in Minneapolis.

Matas Buzelis added 18 points and nine rebounds for Chicago, which recorded back-to-back wins for the first time this season. Buddy Hield and Tre Jones scored 16 points apiece off the bench.

Josh Giddey contributed eight points and led the team with eight rebounds and five assists.

Ayo Dosunmu scored 24 points on 10-for-16 field goal efficiency for Minnesota, whose five-game winning streak ended. LaMelo Ball added 19 points despite making only 7 of 25 shots from the field, and Jaden McDaniels finished with 18 points.

Chicago shot 48.9% (44 of 90) overall and 46.7% (14 of 30) from 3-point range. Minnesota shot 41.8% (38 of 91) from the field and just 23.7% (9 of 38) from deep.

Chicago entered the fourth quarter with an 88-80 lead, but Ball made a layup to cut the Timberwolves' deficit to 94-88 with 9:52 remaining.

That was as close as Minnesota would get to the lead for the rest of the game.

Chicago went on a 15-6 run to seize a 109-94 lead with 5:24 to play. Powell made a layup and a 3-pointer to start the run, which included 3-pointers by Josh Giddey and Hield.

The Bulls led 58-45 at the half, but the Timberwolves closed the gap to three points when Dosunmu made a running layup to pull Minnesota within 69-66 with 4:54 remaining in the third quarter.

Chicago recovered with an 11-3 surge to pull ahead 80-69 with 2:56 left in the quarter. Hield took a pass from Buzelis and buried a 3-pointer to finish the run.

Minnesota misfired on all ten attempts from behind the arc in the first quarter as Chicago jumped out to a 29-17 lead after 12 minutes.

Powell helped Chicago close the half on a 12-7 run to pull ahead by 13. He made a pair of layups in the final three minutes, and Hield and Patrick Williams each knocked down a 3-pointer during that span.

Jaylen Clark left the game early for the Timberwolves because of right hamstring soreness. He finished with one steal in three minutes off the bench.