Bulls Fall 136-101 to Timberwolves Amid Injuries and Third-Quarter Collapse

Julius Randle dropped 17 points/14 assists in the Timberwolves 136-101 rout over the Bulls. (Destiny Little/The Bigs Visuals)

CHICAGO -- Trying to regain traction after losing for the first time in two weeks, the Chicago Bulls instead watched Monday night spiral into a 136–101 rout at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves, worsened by key injuries.

Coby White limped to the locker room less than six minutes into the first quarter with an injury to the same right calf that caused him to miss training camp and the first 11 games of the season. Already missing their best scorer, the Bulls then lost their top playmaker a mere 30 seconds into the third quarter when Josh Giddey went down with a left hamstring injury.

Billy Donovan was unable to provide updates on White or Giddey. But for whatever it’s worth, Giddey walked out of the locker room without a limp. 

“I didn’t see the two situations that occurred that created that,” Donovan said. “Just the aftermath.”

Things truly unraveled in the third quarter as the Timberwolves poured in 40 points and turned a five-point halftime mole hill into a mountain.

In all, Minnesota scored 81 points in a second half in which they shot 30-for-51 from the field and 13-for-17 from the charity stripe.

“Are the injuries impactful? Yes,” Donovan said, but these guys are all pros and they all want an opportunity to play and we gotta be a whole lot better. "Our guard play in particular needs to get better. I think there’s enough there with Ayo [Dosunmu], and Kevin Huerter and Tre Jones to carry the load.”

If there was any bright spot to be seen it showed itself in the minutes Nikola Vučević and Jalen Smith spent together on the floor, particularly in the first half when they helped the Bulls outscore Minnesota by 10 points.

The last time the Bulls had a five-game win streak snapped, they dropped 14 of their next 19 games. The New Orleans Pelicans, who’ve already beaten them twice this season, come to town on Wednesday. 

With Zach Collins already sidelined for the rest of the week with a toe sprain, three back-to-back sets and no more than two days off before the All-Star break, injuries have arrived at the worst possible time.

“Next man up mentality,” said Vučević, who paced the Bulls with 23 points and surpassed Norm Van Lier for 15th on the franchise’s all-time scoring leaderboard. “That’s all we can do.”