Takeaways & Player Grades: Chicago Bulls 120, Minnesota Timberwolves 115

For the first time since December 26, the Chicago Bulls are back at .500.

Facing off against a Timberwolves team with three straight losses, the Bulls took advantage of Josh Giddey's return to the court and pulled off another clutch 120-115 victory. Seven players finished in double figures in what turned out to be an unexpectedly strong downhill scoring night against one of the NBA's most physically imposing frontcourts.

3 Takeaways

Josh Giddey's Confident Return

All things considered, the Chicago Bulls could not have asked for a better return from Josh Giddey. The guard looked thrilled to be back on the floor, offering up one of his more aggressive first halves of the entire season. He posted 18 points on 6-8 shooting from the field and 6-7 shooting from the charity stripe. Believe it or not, he did not dish a single assist in either of the first two quarters, which only further underscored how eager he was to find the bottom of the net.

To make it even more impressive, Billy Donovan opted to have him come off the bench after his 11-game absence. The head coach clearly wanted to monitor his time on the court closely, as he came into the game with a restriction of 24 minutes. This meant that Giddey's strong first-half numbers came in only 12 minutes of action!

While his scoring would slow down after halftime, this is where he picked up the playmaking slack. He proceeded to dish out 5 assists over the next two quarters to help Chicago stay within striking distance. Two of those assists came with under 2 minutes to go. Giddey connected with Jalen Smith for the slam before locating Coby White behind the arc. The two buckets served as answers to the Timberwolves' own clutch makes, keeping the Bulls one bucket away from the lead.

Again, considering he was sidelined for three weeks, this was a shockingly rust-free first game for Giddey. He looked like the offensive engine the Bulls need him to be in more ways than one.

Two Key Runs

To little surprise, the Chicago Bulls started the game looking sluggish. They managed a mere 26 points in the opening frame, which included an ugly 6-13 shooting performance in the restricted area. The Timberwolves frontcourt pairing of Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle was giving the less-physical Bulls some immediate trouble.

The second quarter, however, was a different story. A big reason for that was surely Giddey's aggressive downhill play, but the Bulls also did a better job of creating some open looks from behind the arc. This led to one of the most important stretches of the game, where the Bulls put together a 10-2 run to take their first lead of the night with 40.5 seconds left in the half. To be sure, Minnesota would steal the advantage again before the break, but this felt like an important momentum swing.

A closely contested third quarter was followed by a very strong start to the fourth quarter by the Bulls. They used three straight makes from long range by three different players to build a 104-97 lead. Minnesota clapped right back with a 13-0 run of their own. Their Top 10 ranked defense held Chicago scoreless for over 4 minutes of game time. It felt like the typical case of one team being far more experienced than the other.

Nevertheless, the Bulls would snap the run with a trip to the free throw line for Josh Giddey, who cut the deficit to 110-105 and made it another clutch game for Chicago. The moment that happened might as well have been the moment things shifted back in the Bulls' favor. This group has played the third-most clutch contests of the season, holding a record of 14-11. Conversely, the Timberwolves had appeared in just 22 clutch games with a record of 11-10.

Right on cue, the Bulls had their next key run of the game. They finished the night with a 16-5 scoring advantage, which included a huge Coby White three before one of their best ATO's of the year to take the lead. With White inbounding the ball from the sideline in their own halfcourt, he tossed it to Tre Jones just inside the arc. As White ran along the perimeter, Jones faked the quick hand-off before catching the Timberwolves off guard with a great cut to the rim and smooth finish.

The shot put the Bulls up 116-115. Anthony Edwards then settled for a questionable three-pointer, setting the Bulls up to put the game away at the free throw line.

Speaking of which ...

Free Throw Dispairty

To the surprise of many, this game proved to be pretty darn balanced. The Bulls shot 44.0 percent from the field, while the Timberwolves shot 46.0 percent. The Bulls made 17 threes; the Timberwolves made 15 threes. The Bulls had the lead in fastbreak points, and the Timberwolves had the lead in second-chance points. So, what ended up giving the Bulls the edge? Free throws.

The Bulls were getting to the line with ease. Every starter knocked down at least two freebies, while Coby White and Josh Giddey looked like their 2024-25 post-All-Star-break selves by combining for a 14-18 showing from the charity stripe. By the time the final buzzer sounded, the Bulls were 27-33. The Timberwolves were only 14-15.

Keep in mind that the Timberwolves entered the evening sixth in free throw attempts per game with 26.0. The Bulls have ranked a mere 26th in this department, shooting 21.9 a night.

Chicago Bulls Player Grades

Coby White of the Chicago Bulls — Jan 22, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Coby White (0) dribbles the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second half at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Josh Giddey – A
Stats: 21 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST, 2 STL

As discussed above, Josh Giddey looked extremely fresh from start to finish. The Bulls won this game largely because of his aggressiveness.

Jalen Smith – B+
Stats: 17 PTS, 4 REB, 1 STL

Jalen Smith continues to play some tremendous complementary basketball. Even though he was in foul trouble for a good chunk of the night, he managed to come up huge down the stretch with 9 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter. This included knocking down both his free throws to put the Bulls up 118-115 with 11.0 seconds to go.

Coby White – B
Stats: 22 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST

Coby White didn't have the best shooting performance (6-16 FG), but he knocked down one of the most important buckets of the night and made up for his misses with trips to the free throw line.

Matas Buzelis – C
Stats: 12 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL

Matas Buzelis was active on both ends, but it didn't necessarily lend itself to the best results. Billy Donovan also chose, yet again, to close things out with him sitting on the sideline. With development arguably the most important part of this season, I'm not sure I understand that.

Ayo Dosunmu – C-
Stats: 8 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST

Tonight was unusually inefficient for Ayo Dosunmu. He went 2-9 from the field and played less than 22 minutes of action. The Timberwolves' size and length around the rim just didn't leave him much room to work.