After trailing by as much as 13 in the fourth, the Minnesota Timberwolves ignited their offense in the last quarter to pull off a masterful victory against Eastern Conference powerhouse, the Chicago Bulls, 113-112.
Minnesota and Chicago played a neck-and-neck first quarter. Thaddeus Young scored 11 of his 17 points in the first frame to give the Timberwolves the lead at the end of the first quarter, 35-31. Derrick Rose managed to kept the game close unloading nine of 24 points in the first.
Tony Snell and Aaron Brooks went on to string a couple of buckets early in the second to give the Bulls the upper hand 42-41. Taj Gibson and Anthony Bennett were exchanging baskets to tie the game at 48-all with seven minutes to go. Ricky Rubio scored the last five points in the second to settle with a 64-all, deadlock at halftime.
The Chicago Bulls pulled a 13-4 run in the third to give the Bulls an eight-point lead with under eight minutes left. Despite the major run of the Bulls, the Timberwolves remained within striking distance heading down to the fourth, trailing by eight, 83-91.
Doug McDermott went on a hot start in the fourth, making his first two shots to stretch the lead to 13 at 98-85, but J.J. Barea and Anthony Bennett combined for 18 fourth quarter points to take a 107-106 lead with two minutes left in the game. Zach LaVine went on to score the last four points to give the Timberwolves the win. Ricky Rubio led the Timberwolves attack with 19 points and five assists, while Thaddeus Young and Anthony Bennett added 17 each. Derrick Rose headed the Bulls offense with 27 points and five assists. Minnesota finished the preseason second in the West with a 5-2 card, while Chicago ended at number eight in the East with a .500 record.