Fresh off matching a franchise shooting record, the visiting Chicago Bulls will look to stay hot against the reeling Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday in Minneapolis.
Chicago poured in 25 3-pointers to tie the team record on Tuesday in a 138-110 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. In an injury-marred season for Coby White, the seventh-year guard has connected on 13 triples across the Bulls’ last two games. White has appeared in just 22 of Chicago’s 43 games, but appears to be finding his rhythm in the second half of the regular season.
“I’m just happy for him, because it’s been a long road back,” Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said of White. “I’m around him and I see how hard he works and how invested he is in the team. I’ve just got great respect for him and the way he puts his head down and grinds and works every day.”
With White’s stellar play helping Chicago win three of its last four games, the Bulls are nearing the .500 mark, while sitting in the ninth spot of the Eastern Conference.
White tied a season-high with 27 points against the Clippers, as the confidence grows for the 18.5-points-per-game scorer.
“I feel good,” White said. “I just want to take it game-by-game. In this league, you can never get too high or too low. We’re just trying to stack wins and go from there.”
Chicago could see the return of its leader in scoring and assists in Josh Giddey (19.2 points, nine assists per game), who hasn’t played since the Bulls’ first meeting with Minnesota on Dec 29. Giddey sustained a left hamstring strain in the 136-101 loss, but Donovan noted there’s a chance Giddey returns to action on Thursday. He’s listed as questionable.
Minnesota, meanwhile, matched a season-long skid with its third straight loss on Tuesday, falling 127-122 to the Utah Jazz.
The Timberwolves led by 12 entering the fourth quarter before being outscored 43-26 by Utah across the final 12 minutes.
After missing a pair of games with a right foot injury, Minnesota star Anthony Edwards has exploded for 55 and 38 points, respectively, in the Timberwolves’ consecutive losses to San Antonio and Utah.
Pacing the team with a career-high 29.9 points per game, Edwards knows they need a bounce-back effort against the Bulls.
“They pay us to play basketball. We can’t just lay down,” Edwards said. “We’ve got to go out there and give it our all.”
Minnesota returns home for the first time since a 104-103 win over the Spurs on Jan. 11. Across the team’s underwhelming four-game roadtrip, rookie Joan Beringer scored in double figures twice for the best offensive outputs of his young career.
Beringer, the No. 17 overall pick in last year’s draft, is seeing an uptick in minutes — a deserved increase according to head coach Chris Finch.
“He’s learning on the job,” Finch said of Beringer. “He has feel. Usually, in that position, feel doesn’t necessarily come easily to centers.”
Beringer is averaging 3.2 points in 18 games.
