Bulls 106, Timberwolves 105
Jimmy Butler hit two free throws with 0.2 seconds left to cap a 24-point effort in his season debut and push visiting Chicago past Minnesota.
Pau Gasol added 20 points and four blocks and Aaron Brooks scored 16 off the bench for the Bulls, who were without Derrick Rose (ankles). The Timberwolves took the lead on Kevin Martin’s 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds to play but rookie Andrew Wiggins left his feet on Butler’s pump fake at the other end, and Butler knocked down both free throws to clinch the win.
Martin finished with 33 points and Ricky Rubio handed out a career and franchise-high tying 17 assists before fouling out late for Minnesota. Anthony Bennett added 12 points off the bench while Wiggins was held to eight points on 3-of-10 shooting.
The Bulls held a 94-88 lead after Gasol’s jumper with 5:52 left but went the next 4:01 without a field goal as the Timberwolves surged ahead with an 11-4 run. Gasol snapped the drought with a short jumper to give Chicago a 100-99 advantage, but Rubio found Martin for a 3-pointer at the other end and Gasol and Butler each hit two free throws to set up the wild finish.
The Bulls outscored the Timberwolves 11-2 over the final two minutes of the second quarter and led by as many as 16 points before taking a 63-49 lead into the break. Minnesota came out of the locker room strong and knotted it at 76 on Rubio’s jumper with 2:58 left in the third before Chicago recovered to take an 85-81 lead into the fourth.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Timberwolves F Thaddeus Young was limited to 17 minutes after suffering a neck strain. … Chicago was also without F Taj Gibson (ankle), and he joins Rose as day-to-day. … The Bulls hit 31-of-40 free throws to help overcome 17 turnovers.