Tyrus Thomas’ 22 points, 13 rebounds to boost Bulls past Timberwolves, 94-90

Thomas powers Bulls over Timberwolves, 94-90

CHICAGO — Tyrus Thomas, who missed four games with a bruised right hip, had 22 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 94-90 preseason victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

Minnesota forward Kevin Love fractured a bone in his left hand in the third quarter and will likely miss about six weeks.

The Bulls led most of the way until Minnesota’s Damien Wilkins hit two free throws to tie it at 87 with 47.9 seconds left. Jannero Pargo then buried a jumper from the top of the key that sent the Bulls (5-1) to their third straight win and second in three nights over the Timberwolves (1-3).

With the Bulls leading 90-89, Pargo made 1 of 2 from the line with 17.4 seconds remaining. Al Jefferson had a chance to tie it when he was fouled after an offensive rebound but missed the second free throw. Taj Gibson’s two free throws made it 93-90 with 10.2 seconds left.

Minnesota’s Corey Brewer then missed a 3-pointer and Chicago’s Derrick Byars hit another free throw with less than 2 seconds left.

Love, who led NBA rookies in rebounding last season, banged his hand against teammate Oleksiy Pecherov’s elbow trying to go for a rebound on a missed free throw late in the third quarter and fractured the fourth metacarpal. The injury is to his non-shooting hand and he hopes to return at the end of November or early December.

Brewer finished with 20 points, but it wasn’t enough to offset Thomas’ high-flying act. If the Chicago forward was feeling any lingering pain, it was hard to tell, and that was a good sign for a shorthanded team.

Already without Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose, who has not played since the preseason opener because of an inflamed tendon behind his right ankle, the Bulls were also missing guard John Salmons. He was with his wife for the birth of their second child.

Jefferson had 10 points and 16 rebounds for the Timberwolves, while Pecherov scored 16 points.

Thomas received a nice ovation when he checked in with 4:44 left in the first quarter and wasted no time making an impact.

He immediately drew a roar from the crowd when he soared for a putback dunk on Pargo’s miss and added a another jam and layup on consecutive possessions about a minute later. Thomas kept it going in the second quarter, scoring eight points as Chicago built a 44-37 lead, but the Bulls had trouble pulling away.

The Bulls got 14 points from Gibson and 13 from Pargo. Brad Miller scored four points after missing two games with the flu.

NOTES: The NBA has made a big statement by slapping coaches Stan Van Gundy, Larry Brown and Lionel Hollins with big fines for criticizing the replacement officials, and Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro is taking note. “Yeah, you just … yeah,” he said, his voice trailing off when he was asked if he’s paying attention. He said the referees are “doing the best they can.” The league fined Van Gundy and the Orlando Magic $35,000 each on Friday after hitting Brown and the Charlotte Bobcats for $60,000 and Hollins for $25,000. … Timberwolves G Wayne Ellington shot 1 for 10 after missing a game with a sore left ankle.