MINNEAPOLIS — It didn’t take long for Andrew Wiggins to show the Chicago Bulls just how badly they’re going to miss Jimmy Butler.
With the All-Star and defensive stopper back at home thanks to an injured knee, Wiggins torched the rest of the Bulls’ perimeter defense during a dazzling display down the stretch.
Wiggins scored six of his 21 points in the final 90 seconds and the Minnesota Timberwolves closed the game with a 12-0 run to surge past the Bulls in a 112-105 victory on Saturday (Sunday Manila time).
The Wolves were down five with 2:30 to play before kicking it into gear. Wiggins hit a pair of jumpers and a tough one in the paint after a quiet first three quarters. Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and 17 rebounds and Gorgui Dieng added a career-high 24 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists for the Wolves, who have won two in a row for the first time since December 18 and 20.
“I’m confident in my shot, even when they don’t fall,” said Wiggins, who was 4-for-6 in the fourth and 4-for-11 before that. “I can get air-balls and still make the shots the same. My team trusts me to make the plays and that’s what I’m trying to do.”
Pau Gasol had 25 points and eight rebounds and Derrick Rose had 18 points, 10 assists and five rebounds for the Bulls in their first game without Butler, how strained his left knee on Friday night against Denver.
Minnesota Timberwolves’ Andrew Wiggins, left, lays up a shot as he collides with Chicago Bulls’ Bobby Portis. AP
There is no timetable for Butler’s return, but the team was encouraged when an MRI showed no structural damage to his knee.
“They went to Wiggins. We had a smaller guy on him,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. “Obviously Jimmy is missed in those types of situations, guarding a bigger wing like that.”
Gasol missed the game against the Nuggets on Friday night and was questionable for the game with a sore left hand. But he played with a big black wrap to protect it. He showed no ill effects, making 8 of 16 shots to keep the Bulls in the game.
The Timberwolves were missing Kevin Garnett (leg), Kevin Martin (wrist) and Nikola Pekovic (foot), but Dieng has blossomed since moving into the starting lineup for Garnett six games ago. He came into the night averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds on 64 percent shooting in those games, and he made 10 of 13 shots on Saturday night.
The game was tight the whole way and included 10 lead changes in the fourth quarter before Bobby Portis’s layup gave Chicago a 105-100 lead with under three minutes to play.
The Wolves found another gear after that and closed out their first season sweep of the Bulls since 2008-09.
“There’s a change in their body language, their mentality, how they walk in the gym, how they practice and prepare,” Wolves coach Sam Mitchell said. “When I walk in the locker room before the game, there’s a certain professionalism. These young guys are learning what it takes to be pros.”