Noah-less Bulls bounce back, rip Wolves (AP)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)—Derrick Rose(notes) and Kevin Love(notes) have played against each
other since their days in AAU ball, worked out together in a steamy Los Angeles
gym over the summer, and became fast friends as they’ve emerged as the faces of
their respective franchises.

Individually, they are on similar paths. In their third seasons, both have
had career years, with Rose emerging as a front-runner for the MVP award in
Chicago and Love leading the league in rebounding in Minnesota.

Their professional paths are getting further apart by the day, and Love
knows it.

Rose had 23 points and 10 assists in three quarters and the Bulls blew out
the Timberwolves 108-91 on Wednesday night.

Carlos Boozer(notes) had 24 points and 14 rebounds and the Bulls recorded 31
assists on 41 field goals to stay 2 1/2 games ahead of Boston and Miami in the race
for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

“They’re all on the same page, everybody,” Love said. “When they break
from the huddle, everybody’s in. You can tell everybody has the utmost respect
for each other and they’re all in it to win it. In that regard, I envy that. I
salivate for that. I like that a lot.”

Love had 16 points and nine rebounds, but was limited to 27 minutes in his
first game back from a strained left groin. The Timberwolves (17-58) lost their
eighth straight game and have sunk to the bottom of the West.

The Bulls, who were missing starting center Joakim Noah(notes) because of a
sprained right ankle, bounced back in a big way after a humbling loss to
Philadelphia.

Two nights after the 76ers snapped Chicago’s 14-game home winning streak,
the Bulls attacked the Wolves from the start, playing a beautifully unselfish
brand of basketball that was on an entirely different level than the home team.

“I think we’re getting better, almost every game,” Rose said. “Last game
of course we didn’t do it, but tonight we came out and played aggressive, played
with an edge.”

Rose had 13 points and five assists in the first quarter—Wolves point
guard Luke Ridnour(notes) had 11 points and two assists in the entire game—and
Chicago had 17 assists on 22 baskets in the first half.

The ball movement created wide-open shot after wide-open shot, a cohesive
unit dominating a group of individuals in every way, shape and form.

“That’s a team right there,” Wolves guard Wayne Ellington(notes) said. “Them
guys play together, man. All the way around. They play together, communicate.
They do it the right way. That’s something we’ve got to work toward.”

The Bulls shot 50 percent for the game, pulling away in the third quarter
with a 3 by Rose and a drive-and-dish from Luol Deng(notes) to Boozer that gave them an
86-62 lead.

Ever the demanding coach, Tom Thibodeau stayed on his team to the end, even
calling a timeout with a 20-point lead with six minutes to play when he saw a
defensive breakdown. But, for the most part, he was pleased with the difference
he saw in his team from the start.

“I thought our shootaround was intense, I thought it was serious,”
Thibodeau said. “I thought our locker room was serious, and I thought the start
of our start of the game was serious. … We established a defensive mindset, a
defensive game plan, and I think that got us going.”

Rose’s blend of strength, quickness and pure speed has proven too much for
the league to handle, and his selfless attitude has transformed the Bulls from a
middling playoff team to a legitimate contender and the current No. 1 seed in
the East.

“You look at what he’s done with his team, it’s tough to argue D-Rose isn’t
the MVP,” Love said.

He is also exactly what the Timberwolves are missing. Love is a wonderful
supporting player, but they need a leader, a superstar, a competitor like Rose
if they are ever going to lift themselves from the Western Conference basement.

While Rose had the Bulls humming, with the ball moving, the defense
squeezing and the jumpers falling, the Timberwolves wilted into a one-on-one
mess.

They had just 12 assists for the game and too often settled for jumpers or
wild drives to the basket.

“For whatever reason, it wasn’t there tonight,” Wolves coach Kurt Rambis
said. “We didn’t bring the effort and intensity and focus for the vast majority
of the ballgame.”

Notes: Technically, two of Love’s 16 points weren’t his. Bulls forward Taj
Gibson(notes) knocked the ball into his own basket with just over eight minutes to play
in the second quarter, and Love was credited as the nearest player to the ball.
… Veteran Kurt Thomas(notes) started for Noah and hit his first three jumpers. He
finished with six points and eight rebounds. … Timberwolves C Nikola Pekovic(notes)
missed his second straight game with a hip injury.