CHICAGO, Dec. 30 – It was supposed to be a battle of two teams finding their footing. Instead, it became a tale of two trajectories. While the Minnesota Timberwolves ignited their road trip with a depth-driven explosion, the Chicago Bulls watched their season teeter on the brink of disaster, losing not just the game, 136-101, but potentially the heart of their rotation.
For a half, the game was a contest. The Bulls, riding the momentum of a recent five-game winning streak, fought back from a nine-point deficit to trail by just five at the break. They even tied it at 55 early in the third quarter.
Then, the Timberwolves flipped the switch. Or rather, Naz Reid did.
Coming off the bench, Reid delivered a season-high 33 points, torching the Bulls’ depleted defense from every angle. He was the catalyst for a 40-28 third-quarter surge that turned a tight game into a runaway. Anthony Edwards, who had single-handedly kept Minnesota afloat in the first half with an 11-point burst, finished with 23 points, but it was Reid’s night.
With Julius Randle orchestrating (17 points) and Mike Conley managing his 1,200th career game with veteran calm, Minnesota shot a blistering 53.7% from the field. They didn’t just beat the Bulls; they dismantled them, committing only three turnovers to Chicago’s 16.
The final score, however, was secondary to the scene on the Bulls’ bench. The loss snapped a brief resurgence for Chicago, but the injuries might linger far longer.
Coby White, the team’s leading scorer who had been averaging 20.5 points, exited in the first quarter with a right calf strain—an injury eerily similar to the one that cost him 11 games earlier this season. The bad news compounded in the second half when Josh Giddey, the engine of the Bulls’ offense with seven triple-doubles this season, limped off with a hamstring injury.
Add in the pre-game announcement that center Zach Collins is likely out for several games with a toe sprain, and head coach Billy Donovan is suddenly staring at a roster stripped of its primary playmakers. For a team that had just clawed its way back to .500, Monday night wasn’t just a loss; it was a demolition of their depth chart.
Minnesota (11-5) starts its four-game road trip with emphatic momentum, proving their bench can carry the load when the starters start slow. For Chicago, the focus shifts immediately from the standings to the MRI machine. With White and Giddey ailing, the Bulls face a daunting task to keep their season from spiraling before the calendar even turns.
