Giddey's Return Sparks Bulls' Revenge Win Over Timberwolves 120-115

With 34.7 seconds to go, Coby White found Tre Jones off an in-bounce ball. Jones, juking out all the hurdles, challenged Rudy Gobert downhill for a game-deciding layup, while the 7-foot-1 big man on the counterpart froze without intentions to contain the ball.

As Josh Giddey returned to the lineup for the first time since walking off in a blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in late-December, the Chicago Bulls stood firm until the final seconds and escaped Target Center with a hard-fought 120-115 victory Thursday night, reaching a .500 winning mark and achieving a three-game cruise.

White led the way with 22 points, four rebounds and four assists. Giddey followed with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists. Seven Bulls players posted double-digits in scoring.

On the home side, Julius Randle exploded with 30 points. Anthony Edwards and Naz Reid contributed 20 points respectively.

The Timberwolves tortured the Bulls with an opening 11-3 run. Chicago gradually clawed back, trimming the deficit to five after Jalen Smith knocked down a three. But Minnesota's stifling defense continued punishing Chicago's leaky perimeter coverage, extending the gap to 11 points (26-15) with three minutes left in the opening period.

Giddey, checking in at the quarter's midway point, immediately made his presence felt with a soft floater to cut it to single digits. Nikola Vucevic and Patrick Williams piled on five quick points, followed by a Giddey drive that made it a two-point game. But Jaden McDaniels and Reid answered with back-to-back triples, pushing the Bulls' deficit back to 26-32.

The second quarter turned into a personal battle between Giddey and Edwards. Edwards broke away for a thunderous dunk; Giddey responded with a contested drive. After Mike Conley drilled a corner three, Giddey countered with an and-one windmill layup that brought the United Center energy to Minneapolis. Still, Minnesota rebuilt a 10-point cushion.

White checked in and endeavored to draw contact. He penetrated deep and found Isaac Okoro for an open corner triple. Ayo Dosunmu, Matas Buzelis and Okoro combined for three more triples that sliced the gap to four. Buzelis added a fastbreak dunk, suddenly making it a two-point game.

After a Minnesota timeout, Edwards came back strong with a step-back three in White's face, followed by McDaniels' mid-post jumper. White triggered another deep ball to keep Chicago within striking distance. Giddey, though missing his second free throw, fought for the offensive rebound and drew another foul—a three-point sequence that gave the Bulls their first lead of the half. Minnesota clung to just a one-point advantage at intermission.

Randle opened the third quarter with four quick points, and Donte DiVincenzo beat the buzzer from deep to create a six-point cushion. But Okoro forced a steal and scored in transition, and Vucevic followed with a triple to make it 71-72. White and Williams combined for four points to give Chicago the lead back.

Minnesota, after draining eight threes in the first quarter, had managed just three more by the third-quarter midpoint. DiVincenzo finally broke the drought with another triple. Jones responded with four points to maintain the lead. Both teams traded threes and leads. Giddey, playing under minutes restrictions, found Dosunmu for a wide-open corner three. Chicago reclaimed a 93-90 advantage entering the fourth.

Kevin Huerter, seeing limited minutes, checked in and immediately drilled a three. He fed Buzelis for another open corner look, and Smith followed with his own trey to build a five-point cushion before Edwards answered with a fadeaway.

Minnesota stormed back within a minute to retake the lead, forcing another Donovan timeout. Giddey returned for the closeout with six minutes remaining, but the Timberwolves kept rolling. Gobert grabbed an offensive board for an and-one putback, and Reid weaved through traffic for an authoritative dunk — capping an 11-0 run as Minnesota's lead grew to 110-104 while Chicago went ice-cold from the field.

White's layup finally broke the drought with under three minutes left. Jones ripped through with a drive to cut it to one. White drew a crucial charge on Randle, but squandered the golden opportunity with a traveling turnover. Edwards then capitalized with a driving layup. Giddey dove deep and found Smith cutting for two.

Both teams traded buckets before White drilled a contested three to make it a one-point game in the final minute. Jones' key bucket eventually trapped the Timberwolves into a foul-free-throw loop that benefited the Bulls at last, sending the Bulls home with sweet revenge.