CHICAGO — — DeMar DeRozan scored a season-high 49 points, Zach LaVine finished with 39, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 139-131 in double overtime on Friday night.
Nikola Vucevic added 21 points and 11 rebounds.
Minnesota All-Star Anthony Edwards left with a sprained right ankle in the first quarter, and the Timberwolves lost for the fourth time in five games.
Mike Conley led Minnesota with 28 points, nailing 8 of 12 3-pointers. Rudy Gobert finished with 21 points and 19 rebounds, and Jaden McDaniels scored 25 points.
The Bulls led 130-125 in the second OT before Conley hit a 3-pointer. Minnesota’s Naz Reid had a layup rim, and DeRozan made a turnover jump to extend Chicago’s lead to 132-28 with 1:27 remaining.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker made the second free throw after an airball to pull the Timberwolves in three, but Vucevic got the Bulls bench back on their feet with a thunderous one-handed dunk for a three-point play with just over a minutes to play.
Reid drove for a layup to make it a four-point game. But DeRozan had four free throws in the final 36 seconds to help Chicago to a wild victory.
Edwards was injured late in the first quarter when he landed awkwardly after jumping while throwing a pass. He remained on the ground clutching his ankle before being helped from behind.
Losing Edwards would be a blow for the Timberwolves, who tied for seventh in the Western Conference and are trying to avoid the play-in. He entered the game averaging 25 points and made his first all-star team this year.
Conley hit a 3 to give Minnesota a 121-118 lead in the first overtime. DeRozan was tied on a three-point play with just over a minute left, with Gobert fouling in the process.
McDaniels then scored to put Minnesota back on top. LaVine drove for a tying layup with 11 seconds left after the Timberwolves’ Taurean Prince threw the ball away, and McDaniels missed a pull-up 3 for Minnesota.
ADVICE
Timberwolves: Coach Chris Finch says there’s a ‘lot of momentum’ in Karl-Anthony Towns’ impending return that the Timberwolves ‘haven’t really digged into’ as there are still unknowns, such as whether he will be on a minute restriction. Towns hasn’t played since spraining his right calf Nov. 28 during a game in Washington. The team announced Wednesday that the three-time All-Star is expected to return “in the coming weeks.” “The good thing about KAT is he’s pretty much wired to make the right play, whether it’s passing or shooting,” Finch said.
Bulls: Coach Billy Donovan wasn’t sure when or even if Lonzo Ball would play for Chicago again, with the point guard set to undergo another surgery on his troublesome left knee. Donovan said Ball will likely have a cartilage transplant early next week, although he doesn’t know what day, and is in “long rehab.” The surgery will be the third knee in 14 months for Ball, who was ruled out for the season in February.
FOLLOWING
Timberwolves: Visit Toronto on Saturday.
Bulls: Host Miami on Saturday.
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