After a horrible performance against the Denver Nuggets, the Chicago Bulls gave a glimpse of what Fred Holberg’s offense hopes to look like. After a few rough minutes that resembled the opening of Thursday’s game, the Bulls took advantage.

Pau Gasol returned to the lineup and immediately showed what Chicago was missing the first two games without him, hitting a shot inside that forced a foul and gave Chicago their first score. It took over two minutes for the next set of points to be scored, however, as Chicago’s defense held the young Wolves in check, but couldn’t hit open looks.

Kirk Hinrich was making Lorenzo Brown work all night, forcing bad shot after bad shot. Andrew Wiggins, who finished with nine points, started out on the attack. He was aggressively taking the ball to the hoop and looking for a shot. However, his drives ended in fouls of which he hit 2 of 4 in the first quarter. Chicago’s aggression seemed to get to Wiggins as he wouldn’t have another score for the entire first half.

Nikola Mirotic then brought the game back to life, hitting two big threes on two possessions and setting up Gasol for a three of his own to give Chicago an 11-point lead. Aside from Tony Snell, who missed two open threes in the first, the Bulls were shooting from downtown at the rate Hoiberg envisioned, with marked improvement in their energy and ball movement (36 attempts).

The Minnesota Timberwolves showed no offensive chemistry whatsoever. Zach LaVine and Wiggins combined for two points in the first half. 

After a first quarter where the Timberwolves often looked lost on offense, forcing themselves into bad shots, they found an answer. Rookie Tyus Jones seemed to be powered by energizer batteries, constantly pushing the ball and taking advantage of Chicago’s aggressive defense by finding open outlet passes.

Damjan Rudez, who finished with nine points, hit a circus shot to open the second, but the Bulls came right back with a layup by Cameron Bairstow after a set of surgical passes. Hinrich found Doug McDermott open for a three and that shot put Chicago up by 21, but Jones responded with one of his own.

E'Twaun Moore later found Baristow who finished the play with a tear drop. Tyus brought the lead back down to 19 with a layup, but missed the potential and-one free throw. He made up for it with a steal and assist that did lead to a free throw.

Chicago’s ball movement was getting to the Timberwolves, highlighted by a wide open three made by Moore in which the Wolves just watched him drain it, not even attempting to defend him. Bobby Portis, finishing with 12 points and eight rebounds, assisted McDermott with his fourth three-pointer of the half moments later.

Jones then went on a streak, finding Shabazz Muhammad for a three and Karl-Anthony Towns for a mid-range jumper that cut Chicago’s lead to 12. Jones continued his assault, bringing the lead down to eight. After a pair of free throws by Gorgui Dieng, the Bulls finished the first half up by 10. At the half, the Bulls were out-shooting the Timberwolves 51.2 percent to 35.9 percent, while shutting down LaVine and Wiggins. They’d also taken 19 three-point attempts after shying away from it on Thursday. Chicago’s passing also recovered with 17 assists at the half.

The second half started out in Chicago's favor, as Hinrich hit a three with a hand in his face. Snell then hit a three of his own after going 0 for 5 in the first half. Towns showed what made him the number one overall pick in the draft by powering through a foul for a dunk which was the highlight of Minnesota’s night.

Brooks, however, extended his team's lead to 17 with a layup before Jones found Dieng under the hoop to bring it back to 15. McDermott, showing off his shooting skills, hit a moving jumper with contact and picked up a free throw, but couldn’t capitalize on it. McDermott found Moore for a two with a minute remaining. The Bulls fouled Dieng with four seconds on the clock with an incredible block attempt. Chicago took a 12-point lead into the fourth quarter and looked very comfortable.

The teams exchanged a couple of steals to open the fourth. Jones started out hot, hitting a deep two and showing no fear. After going 1 of 2 at the charity stripe, Dieng pulled the Timberwolves to within single digits.

McDermott responded by finding Bairstow open for three, and he drilled it while looking like a nice fit in this offense. Brooks helped Bairstow make it 97-87 with a beautiful assist from under the hoop with 7:43 left in regulation.

An unusual possession took place moments later when Brooks missed a three pointer, but Minnesota accidentally tapped it in, giving Chicago a 12-point lead. Snell added to the lead by making his second shot of the game.

With 6:34 left in regulation, Wiggins apparently realized this game was actually happening and finally hit his first field goal of the game. That’s right. His first field goal came halfway through the fourth. Wiggins was then fouled by Moore giving him two free throws which he completed. Jones later found Rudez for his second three-pointer of the night, making it 101-94 with 5:14 remaining on a 7-0 run.

Wiggins then nailed a three with 4:25, making it a six-point game. But Moore would not allow his team to falter, as he hit a couple of shots to stretch Chicago's lead to 10 and later set up his teammate Cristiano Felicio for huge three-pointer. 

Portis was showing his grit tonight, twice diving onto the loose ball and forcing a jump ball. Despite doing better in the fourth quarter, Wiggins and LaVine didn’t really show up until the game was out of reach, and therefore, the Timberwolves fell to the Bulls, 114-105. 

The Loose Ball:

MVP 

Offensive chemistry of the Bulls (and an honorable mention: Tyus Jones).

This looked like a completely different team than the one we saw on Thursday. Everyone was moving and passing the ball. Their spacing was great and they showed no sign of being hesitant, letting the deep ball fly with 36 attempts and 44.4 percent accuracy, to go along with 30 team assists as well. If not for one steal, the Bulls would have won every box score category. 

Side Note:

What happened to Wiggins and LaVine? This type of performance is inexcusable for two players that Minnesota is expecting to take the next step.

Ports again showed how tough and aggressive he is. 

McBuckets is really here. Doug has been on fire and seems more confident by the day.

Where’s Butler? For the second straight game, Butler has not been able to get going. 

Tyus Jones. Remember that name because if this game is any indication, he’s going to turnout as a draft STEAL.