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The Bulls beat the Wolves tonight in classic Tom Thibideau fashion, shutting down the paint and the perimeter all night, resulting in a final score of 100-84.
"I thought we did a pretty good job in the first half," Rick Adelman said after the game. "Second half and third quarter they just started making shots and we couldn't get one to go down. We ran out of gas in the second half."
The first quarter stayed relatively even throughout, Robbie Hummel stealing the highlight of the night early with this little gem.
via cjzero.com
Also, this is the quarter when Kevin Love showed some pain in his right arm (or hand). He quickly returned to the game, coming back in the 2nd quarter. The quarter ended with the Bulls up just a point, after Taj Gibson hit an inside bucket to leave just 0.8 seconds left on the clock.
The bench continued their good play from yesterday into the first half of tonight. With J.J. Barea out for tonight's game, Rick Adelman was forced to insert Alexey Shved into the rotation. Shved took advantage, piling up 4 points and 5 assists in just 7 minutes of action. He had a couple rough patches, including an attempt at an alley oop pass that had no chance of completion.
Still, Shved looked solid, gave Rubio a breather, and helped the Wolves build a lead going into the half, 53-48.
The Bulls started the 3rd quarter on a 9-2 run and never really looked back. When their spot-up shooters started to hit, it helped them build their lead into double digits, and their stifling defense made it impossible for the Wolves to mount anything resembling a run. The bench wasn't able to continue their play in the half either. Collectively, the team was flat, and probably tired.
The Wolves came off flat, but a lot of credit should go to the Bulls' defense. They back up their reputation on nearly a nightly basis, and tonight was no exception. It also helped that they had 3 days rest coming into the game, versus the Wolves' back-to-back situation.
"They were sitting here for three days waiting to play us. They had fresh legs and they are a good team," Adelman said. "Plus, they have been playing well too. It's just one of those things that you have to regroup and come back on Friday."
The Wolves will continue their home stand on Friday, when they host the Houston Rockets at 7pm on FS North.