GAME NIGHT FROM MINNESOTA
Bulls: (5-14, 2-6 on the road) at Minnesota: (8-11, 7-3 at home)
TV: WGN TV: Neil Funk and Stacey King: 7PM.
RADIO: 670 The Score: Chuck Swirsky, Bill Wennington, Steve Kashul.
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: LaVine: 25 ppg. Minnesota: Towns: 20 ppg.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Carter: 7 per. Minnesota: Towns: 11 per.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: Arcidiacono and LaVine each with 4 per. Minnesota: Teague: 7 per game.
CCI PREVIEW: There’s been a ton of drama in Minnesota and it started in the off season with a high degree of speculation whether Jimmy Butler was content playing for the T-Wolves. As things played out, Butler’s desire for a trade came to fruition. The pressure continues to mount as Minnesota, in the tough Western Conference, will go only as far as Karl Anthony-Towns and Andrew Wiggins take them…but wait…Derrick Rose is ballin. Rose scored 25 in Friday’s win over the Nets, Minnesota’s first road win of the year. Rose in 17 games with the T-Wolves has 8- 20+ games. I’m a huge D. Rose fan and wish him nothing but the best. Taj Gibson remains a steady, solid player and the newcomers from Philadelphia Dario Saric and Robert Covington are quality players. Perhaps with the departure of Butler the T-Wolves can focus on what is developing on the court not off. KAT is such a gifted player as is Wiggins. This is a telling year for these two players who received major max deals recently. Without question this is Tom Thibodeau’s biggest challenge of his eight year career as an NBA head coach to remold a team in season.
LAST NIGHT FROM UNITED CENTER: Miami 103, Bulls 96
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: Holiday: 27 points. Miami: Richardson: 27 points.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Holiday: 13 (CH). Miami: Adebayo: 13.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: LaVine: 9. Miami: Johnson 5.
CCI RECAP: The Bulls dug themselves a deep second quarter hole trailing by as many as 26 points with 70 seconds left in the period but their fortunes changed dramatically with a huge second half pulling to within four points, only to see Josh Richardson take over with three big hoops at crunch time. Justin Holiday, Zach LaVine and Jabari Parker combined for 74 of the Bulls 96 points. The Heat took advantage of 18 Chicago turnovers scoring 23 points. The Heat also registered 11 block shots.
CCI 24 SECONDS NBA NEWS AND NOTES
Minnesota 112, Brooklyn 102. Derrick Rose with a strong floor game, scoring 25 points, 3 assists-2 rebounds in 29 minutes. The T-Wolves forced the Nets in to 19 turnovers leading to 31 Minnesota points. It was Minnesota’s first road win in nine attempts.
Cleveland 121, Philadelphia 112. The Cavs entered the contest 0-8 on the road; Philly 10-0. Go figure. The 76ers fan base voiced their displeasure.
Phoenix 116, Milwaukee 114. The Suns picked up their first road win stunning the Bucks. Jamal Crawford with a big time hoop with 0.8 left.
Golden State 125, Portland 97. The Warriors end a four game slide. The road weary Blazers return to the Pacific Northwest after ten days on the road.
New York 114, New Orleans 109. The Knicks have won two straight games and the parade is scheduled for Monday on Fifth Avenue. Alonzo Trier scored 25.
Los Angeles Clippers 112, Memphis 107 OT. Montrezl Harrell with another impressive game of 22-11.. a legit candidate for Most Improved Player. The Clippers have won eight straight at home.
Detroit 116, Houston 111 OT. Andre Drummond with his eighth 20/20 game of the season. The Pistons have won five out of their last seven.
Boston 114, Atlanta 96. The struggling Celtics prevailed even with the absence of Al Horford (knee soreness). The Hawks have lost ten straight and fell to 3-16.
Toronto 125, Washington 107. Kawhi Leonard with a 27-10 game. The Raps have won four straight and improved to 16-4. As of November 24, Toronto clearly is the best team in the NBA. Period.
San Antonio 111, Indiana 100. LaMarcus Aldridge owned the Pacers pouring in 33 points and 14 rebounds. Indiana played without two starters with Victor Oladipo and Myles Turner sidelined.
OKC 109, Charlotte 104. The Thunder have won 12 of 14 after starting the season 0-4.
Denver 112, Orlando 87. The Nuggets led by as many as 27 points.
Los Angeles Lakers, 90 Utah 83. The Jazz shot only 38% and 17 % from three point range. Donovan Mitchell sustained a rib contusion in the second quarter and did not return.
Thanks for reading CCI. You can reach out to: cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter: @ctsbulls. Always a pleasure!