October 17, 2026 at 3:43 PM UTC

Postgame Report

Bulls close preseason with a 133-116 rout of Minnesota

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Chicago finished its exhibition schedule with a 17-point win over the Timberwolves at the United Center, though the turnovers and the work on the glass left some of the cleanup for the regular season.

The Bulls wrapped up their preseason Friday night at the United Center the way they would have wanted, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 133-116 in what amounted to a final dress rehearsal. The 8 p.m. Eastern tip (7 in Chicago) was tight for a while. The Bulls led 43-42 midway through the second quarter, then pulled away and were never seriously pushed after that. Seventeen points is a comfortable margin in any month.

It was a needed result for a Bulls team whose exhibition run had been uneven, with a win over Phoenix and a few shakier nights around it. Caleb Wilson started and gave them 16 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in 23 minutes. Jordan Hawkins scored 14 off the bench, Matas Buzelis added 14 and 6 rebounds, and Josh Giddey and Leonard Miller each had 12. Chicago got scoring from nearly everyone who played, which is easy to do when the game is going your way.

Minnesota came in at 3-1 this preseason, with its only loss to Indiana, and with a revamped roster that now includes LaMelo Ball. Ball did not play. Zyon Pullin ran the team for 38 minutes, the most of anyone on the floor, and finished with 14 points and 10 assists for a double-double. Isaiah Evans led the Wolves with 21 points off the bench, and Drew Timme and Jaylen Clark each scored 18. The visitors were generally fine on the scoreboard. They just could not stop Chicago.

The Bulls will not be happy with all of it, though. They turned the ball over 21 times, which the final score hid, and they continued to struggle with physicality on the glass and at the defensive end. Splitter has wanted visible progress from a young team still finding its identity. Friday gave him some of it and left a short list of things to fix before the games count.

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