The Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves are both miffed about circumstances that have little to do with the other.
On Monday at Chicago, the teams will try to work through those annoyances on the way to victory.
What has the Bulls steamed? It’s the way Saturday’s 112-103 home loss to Milwaukee ended — with a Giannis Antetokounmpo windmill dunk off a breakaway pass.
Never mind that the Bucks stopped Chicago’s season-high matching five-game winning streak. Players felt the gesture was unnecessary and were vocal about it, which led to a light postgame scuffle.
“Just NBA scuffling; nothing really ever happens,” the Bulls’ Coby White said. “You all won the game. It’s over with. Why you got to do that for? I think it’s a respect thing to the game, your opponent, the game in general. Guess (Antetokounmpo) got out of character for a moment.”
Chicago also lamented multiple lost chances, with an overall lack of tenacity and urgency despite placing six scorers in double figures. Nikola Vucevic and White each scored 16 points.
“I think we didn’t play with the same energy we had the last couple of games on both ends of the floor. … They slowed us down,” Vucevic said. “We never got in position for our way of playing, the ball movement.”
Minnesota can attest. Two nights after dueling host Denver in a 142-138 overtime loss on Christmas, the Timberwolves struggled to maintain an edge against the slumping Brooklyn Nets on Saturday in a 123-107 home loss.
That prompted boos from the home crowd and left players looking inward.
“We want to be champions. With champions, it doesn’t matter who you play, it’s who you are. You don’t pick and choose,” Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert said. “You play every night to … define who you are on the team. We have to be conscious about it.”
Anthony Edwards scored 28 points to lead the Timberwolves and has finished with at least 24 points in six straight games.
Monday marks the beginning of a four-game road trip in which Minnesota will face just one team that entered the week above .500. The Timberwolves’ Donte DiVincenzo discussed the challenge ahead.
“We have to become what we know we can,” DiVincenzo said. “We can’t rely on talent. We have to come in and use our talent, but every night the energy has to be there. Every night, the competitive spirit has to be there, and it can’t be up and down on a night-to-night basis.”
Minnesota swept the series from Chicago a season ago, but the Bulls are 6-4 in the past 10 matchups and aim to avoid losing back-to-back season series for the first time since 2015-16 and 2016-17.
White has made at least four 3-pointers in four straight meetings with Minnesota. Vucevic is averaging 22.2 points and 8.4 rebounds in his past 10 games versus the Timberwolves.
Minnesota leads the all-time series 136-113 but is eight games under .500 on the road.
