The Chicago Bulls saved their best for last. 

In their preseason finale against Minnesota, the Bulls beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 126-120, presenting a better basketball of the preseason slate. Matas Buzelis led the scoreboard with 19 points in 24 minutes, while Julian Phillips shone with 17 points off the bench.

The Bulls' early struggles continued early, missing their first five shots in the opening three minutes against Minnesota. But this time, Billy Donovan's strategic adjustment—starting "big" with Jalen Smith alongside Nikola Vucevic—paid dividends. Smith contained Rudy Gobert effectively in the paint while the defense held structure.

Buzelis broke the scoring drought with an and-one hammer, followed by Josh Giddey's and-one drive, but the Timberwolves built a double-digit lead behind Anthony Edwards' three-pointer and a Dante DiVincenzo splash. Kevin Huerter, returning from injury, answered with a three to cut it to single digits, and Phillips added four more as the deficit shrank to four.

The second unit stepped up with efforts—Phillips knocked down another three and Dalen Terry contributed a steal-and-score to tie the game. Starting the second quarter, Giddey attacked again with another and-one, while Jevon Carter and Buzelis hit timely threes to keep Chicago close despite repeated turnovers hurting their momentum.

By midway through the second quarter, the Bulls had clawed back to 41-41. Led by Buzelis's five-point burst—including a putback three and an aggressive drive—Chicago found their rhythm on both ends. Tre Jones created havoc with a deflection and capitalized on the fastbreak.

The physicality gap initially favored Minnesota, with Gobert dominating inside, but Giddey elevated his game, attacking downhill with tough drives to match the Timberwolves' intensity. When Minnesota coughed up extra turnovers, the Bulls capitalized. Chicago's adjustments and balanced scoring attack propelled them to a halftime lead, 60-54, showing the kind of flexibility and depth Donovan had been seeking throughout the preseason.

Minnesota cut into the halftime deficit and retook the lead early in the third quarter, but Chicago kept pace with balanced scoring. Vucevic came out of the break strong with four quick points on a putback and an off-ball cut off a Giddey feed. The Bulls' frontcourt continued to impose its will, with Smith adding five in the third on an alley-oop dunk and an and-one, while both teams traded baskets to stay level.

The Timberwolves seized control with Anthony Edwards' four-point stretch, but sloppy Bulls turnovers kept feeding Minnesota easy baskets. Zach Collins answered off the bench with six points in the paint, and Phillips' transitional dunk trimmed the gap to five as Chicago rallied.

The momentum shifted when Buzelis knocked down a corner three, giving the Bulls the lead back. After a Wolves timeout, Phillips answered with an and-one, and Buzelis' ensuing drive extended Chicago's advantage to three. Smith's and-one provided breathing room, but Minnesota responded with precision until Carter—off the bench again—nailed a three with five minutes left to push the Bulls ahead.

Smith's three and Giddey's floater built momentum, then Carter struck again with another corner three after forcing a turnover, making it 116-109. The Bulls' turnover-forcing defense was working perfectly. Dalen Terry and Noa Essengue added transition baskets to build a double-digit lead, 120-109, their first of the night.

Minnesota mounted a furious rally, cutting it to eight with one minute left. But Lachlan Olbrich found a wide-open Carter on the right wing, who converted another three to keep the lead intact. In the final seconds, the Bulls dominated the glass, and Emmanuel Miller added a second-chance bucket to seal a preseason-closing victory.

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