Despite a slow start,
Coby White caught fire in the second
half and led the
Chicago Bulls to a 129-123 comeback victory in overtime
against the
Minnesota Timberwolves at the United Center.
Coby White has been having a phenomenal season this year and
is in the running to win Most Improved Player. The 5th year guard
has increased his averages from 9.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists last
season to 19.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.1 assists this year. In a
disappointing season so far for the Bulls with injuries to key players, White
has been a bright spot. With speculation that veterans such as DeMar Derozan,
Nikola Vucevic, and Alex Caruso can be dealt at the trade deadline, it’s really
starting to look like the point guard from UNC will takeover as the face of the
franchise in the near future and a key building block in the next era of this
organization.
Coby White led the way with 33 points, 5 rebounds, and 7
assists with 7 made threes. 30 of those points came in the second half and overtime.
DeMar Derozan had himself a game too, finishing with 33 points, 3 rebounds, 5
assists, and 4 steals. Nikola Vucevic ended with 24 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists,
and 4 blocks while Andre Drummond got the start tonight and recorded a 16-point,
16 rebound double-double to go along with 4 blocks as well.
For the Timberwolves,
Anthony Edwards exploded for 38
points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. Co-star Karl-Anthony
Towns finished with 33 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks
while Rudy Gobert recorded 12 points and 16 rebounds.
This win improves the Bulls to 24-27, which makes them 9th
in the Eastern Conference. Chicago is now 3 games behind the 8th seeded Orlando
Magic and 1.5 games above the 10th seeded Atlanta Hawks. They are 5-5 over
their last 10 games and will play on Thursday night against the Memphis
Grizzlies.
This loss drops the Timberwolves to 35-16 on the season. In
such a tight race for the top seed in the Western Conference this loss isn’t
ideal, as the top 4 teams are within 0.5 games of each other. Minnesota is 5-5
over their last 10 games and will play on Thursday night against the Milwaukee
Bucks.