MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Norman Powell scored 23 points, Matas Buzelis added 18 points and nine rebounds, and the short-handed Chicago Bulls won for the second night in a row with a 117-106 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
Buddy Hield and Tre Jones each chipped in 16 points off the bench for the Bulls, who ended Minnesota's five-game winning streak convincingly.
Chicago's travel to Minneapolis on Friday was delayed by the nationwide ground
stop that impacted many flights across the country. That meant the Bulls didn't arrive to Minnesota until the day of the game Saturday after beating the Hawks in Chicago on Friday.
The travel disruption didn't seem to impact the Bulls, nor did a limited roster. Rookie Caleb Wilson is out for an extended period with a fractured hand. Jalen Smith also missed Saturday's game with a hand injury, and center Nic Claxton was sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Buzelis picked up the scoring in their absence with 14 first-half points.
The Timberwolves missed their first 13 shots from 3-point range and finished 9 for 38.
Minnesota was held to 17 points in the first quarter, its lowest-scoring quarter of the season. The Wolves failed to reach 110 points for the first time this season.
Wolves guard Ayo Dosunmu had a big third quarter against his former team to help Minnesota claw back. Dosunmu scored 14 of his team-high 24 points in the period. LaMelo Ball added 19 points.
Chicago had no problem scoring at the rim in the first half. The Bulls scored 30 points of their 58 first-half points in the paint and finished with 54 paint points for the game. The Bulls also connected on 7 of 15 shots from deep before halftime.
Bulls: Play at Cleveland on Monday.
Timberwolves: Host Portland on Monday.
___
See AP’s full NBA coverage here
