GAME NIGHT FROM MINNESOTA: Bulls (11-17, 4-10 on the road) at Minnesota (14-15, 7-7 at home). 6PM
RADIO: 670 The Score: Chuck Swirsky, Bill Wennington, Alyssa Bergamini. 5:45 pre.
TV: NBCSC: Jason Benetti and Stacey King: 6PM
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: DeRozan: 25 ppg. Minnesota: Edwards: 22 ppg.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Vucevic: 10 per. Minnesota: Gobert: 12 per.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: DeRozan: 4.6 per. Minnesota: Russell: 6 per.
CCI PREVIEW: The Bulls look to turn things around on the road as the first of four stops take them to Minnesota for a game against the up again/down again T-Wolves.
All Star Karl-Anthony Towns remains sidelined with a calf injury. Minnesota has struggled but has outstanding pieces in Anthony Edwards, D'Angelo Russell and Rudy Gobert in addition to Towns. Do the pieces fit? The off season brought plenty of changes for Minnesota on and off the court. The T-Wolves, looking to make a bold move to compete for a higher seed in the Western Conference, acquired defensive nemesis Gobert for four number one draft picks and several veteran players. Edwards is the real deal. His ability to score as a downhill driver to the rim is impressive. He plays with a ton of energy. Gobert is doing what Gobert does. He rebounds, alters shots and protects the rim. If Gobert plays tonight (knee) , I expect Nikola Vucevic to test him. Russell missed Friday's game against OKC with a knee injury. Both Gobert and Russell are questionable against the Bulls.
During the Bulls three game losing streak, opponents have attempted nine more free throws per game than the Bulls. Opponents make six more three pointers per game than the Bulls over the last three games. Opponents are averaging 121 points against the Bulls over the last three games. If the Bulls can clean things up and protect the ball (17 turnovers per game over the last three games) the Bulls can come away with a win.
CCI 24 SECONDS NBA NEWS AND NOTES
Phoenix 118, New Orleans 114. Devin Booker scored a season high 58 points, 20 coming in the third quarter as the Pelicans blew a 24 point lead.
Cleveland 100, Dallas 99 OT. The Cavs improved to 5-0 in OT. Dallas failed to score in the final 4:30 of the extra period. Kemba Walker had a 32-5-7 game for the Mavs who played without Luka Doncic.
Miami 111, San Antonio 101 at Mexico City. The Heat outscored the Spurs 31-17 in the final period. Miami had three players (Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro) each score 20+ points.
Oklahoma City 115, Memphis 109. Ja Morant was ejected in the second quarter. The Thunder snapped the Grizzlies seven game win streak.
Portland 107, Houston 95. Portland's Anfernee Simons scored 32 points in 33 minutes for the 17-13 Trail Blazers.
Los Angeles Clippers 102, Washington 93. Kawhi Leonard scored a season high 31 points for the Clippers. The Wizards have lost nine straight.
Milwaukee 123, Utah 97. Bobby Portis scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Bucks bounced back after losing to Memphis by 41 points. The Bucks were without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton.
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