Coby White erupts in the second half as Chicago Bulls comeback and defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves in OT

Wednesday, 07 February 2024 at 05:13

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.

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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.

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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.