Timberwolves at Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are putting together a winning streak that has them out of the basement in the Eastern Conference and will try to make it three in a row when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. The Bulls snapped a streak of seven straight games scoring fewer than 100 points with a 112-92 triumph at Cleveland on Sunday.
Chicago knocked off Orlando 90-80 at home on Friday before beating the Cavaliers, giving the team its first back-to-back victories of the season. "You have to give the guys the credit," Bulls coach Jim Boylen told reporters. "They're coachable, teachable and they're becoming reliable. It's fun." The Timberwolves solved some of their road woes with a 114-112 triumph over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, snapping a string of 12 straight road losses to Western Conference teams, but are 2-0 at East foes with wins over Brooklyn and Cleveland. "We're just tired of losing," Minnesota forward Taj Gibson told reporters after Sunday's triumph. "We felt like we’re a better team than what we showed. Guys were real resilient."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS North (Minnesota), NBCS Chicago
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (15-18): Minnesota swingman Andrew Wiggins scored a season-high 30 points on 11-of-20 shooting and matched a season-best with five assists in Sunday's triumph. "I just tried to be ultra-aggressive," Wiggins told reporters. "They were blitzing the pick-and-rolls and I just tried to be patient and found my spots - and be aggressive. Guys are hurt, so we have to step up." The Timberwolves were missing point guards Jeff Teague (ankle) and Derrick Rose (ankle), who are both day-to-day.
ABOUT THE BULLS (9-25): Forward Lauri Markkanen sat out the first 23 games with an elbow injury and averaged 14.4 points in his first nine games back before breaking out with a total of 63 points on 23-of-38 shooting over the last two contests. "Getting my conditioning back," Markkanen told reporters. "Don't get tired as quickly that way. I've got more power in my legs when I shoot the ball, so it just helps everything to get that rhythm back." Markkanen is developing a solid connection with point guard Kris Dunn, who piled up 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in Sunday's win.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Timberwolves SF Robert Covington is 10-of-20 from 3-point range over the last three games.
2. Bulls PG Ryan Arcidiacono handed out eight assists in each of the last two games.
3. Minnesota earned a 111-96 home victory over Chicago on Nov. 24 despite Wiggins going scoreless on 0-of-12 shooting.