CHICAGO — For most of the game Thursday, the Timberwolves’ defense was absent from the United Center. The Wolves seemed resigned to attempt to outscore the Bulls, who were without guard Zach LaVine and playing on a back-to-back. After trailing most of the night, the Wolves came back in the fourth quarter for a 135-119 win.

They went on a tear in the fourth. While their defense is still struggling for an identity, their offense played as well as it has all season in the second half Thursday. A game the Wolves trailed 95-90 headed into the fourth turned in a comfortable win.

The Wolves outscored Chicago 21-6 over a 5-minute, 6-second stretch of the fourth quarter. Anthony Edwards led them with 33 points while Julius Randle had 22. The Wolves did a good job finding Rudy Gobert for easy buckets, and he had 21 points.

How it happened

Both teams came out shooting hot. The Bulls hit their first five 3-pointers of the night, and the Wolves hit their first four. The Wolves defense didn’t make the trip for the first quarter, and Chicago raced out to a 34-28 lead after one on 14-for-22 shooting.

After using eight players in his rotation in Monday’s win over Charlotte, coach Chris Finch dipped into his bench for a ninth player in the first quarter Thursday — Josh Minott. But Minott ended up playing only three minutes.

The Wolves defense allowed Chicago to do what it wanted in the second quarter. The Bulls finished the first half shooting 60% from the field, all this while on a back-to-back. Coby White and Josh Giddey each finished the half with seven assists.

The Wolves couldn’t contain Nikola Vucevic, who was 11 for 12 from the field through three quarters for all 25 of his points. He had 12 points in the third quarter. The Wolves’ effort ticked up in the third, even if the defense still struggled to contain Chicago. They got as close as two thanks to 34 third-quarter points but trailed 95-90 headed into the fourth. Then the offense took off from there. Edwards was hitting from deep; he finished 5 for 9 from 3-point range.

Player of the game

Edwards hit a pair of 3-pointers that gave the Wolves some separation on the scoreboard during the fourth quarter. He also had a few nice finds of Gobert for layups and dunks in the second half. When he hit a 3-pointer with 1:48 left, he walked around the court letting the crowd hear it.

Stat of the game

45: Wolves’ fourth-quarter points

Up next

Vs. Portland | The Wolves head home for the rest of a back-to-back on Friday, with three of their next four games coming against Portland.

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