Timberwolves aim for sixth straight win against Bulls

Minnesota seeks a sixth consecutive victory without the injured Anthony Edwards as Chicago visits after halting an eight-game losing streak.

No Anthony Edwards, no problem for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Minnesota will aim for its sixth win in a row when it tips off against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night in Minneapolis.

The Timberwolves are coming off a 39-point blowout win against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday. That Minnesota performance followed victories against the Utah Jazz, New Orleans Pelicans, Houston Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks.

Edwards has missed all of those contests, plus one other win and two losses, as he recovers from a knee injury that required surgery.

The Timberwolves have surged recently in large part because of LaMelo Ball, who quickly has won over teammates and fans in his first season with the team. Ball is averaging 18.6 points and 6.3 assists per game to go with 1.8 steals in 12 games (all starts) this season.

But Ball's impact extends beyond the box score, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said.

"I think when you have a guy like 'Melo, he makes it fun for everybody," Finch said. "And the guys can trust in the next pass, the next play."

Ball deflected the credit to teammates such as Bones Hyland, who scored 24 points off the bench in the team's most recent game, a 133-94 victory over the Mavericks.

"Bones (has) been great, for real," Ball said. "He's just one of those players -- once he's rolling, it's tough to stop him. The shot, the mid-range, he's got it all."

Hyland is averaging 9.8 points on 47.1% shooting from the field in 12 games off the bench.

"This is definitely the role I was envisioning, for sure," Hyland said. "That's why I worked out so hard this summer. I worked (myself) out to exhaustion. I pushed myself a lot. I ran a lot. I worked out four times a day for a month-and-a-half straight ramping up for the season."

Chicago did not envision a turbulent start to the season, but the Bulls hope to build on a 125-117 overtime win against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night. The victory snapped an eight-game losing streak for Chicago.

Norman Powell will look to stay hot after scoring 33 points on 12-for-19 shooting from the field for the Bulls on Friday. Josh Giddey, Jalen Smith and Isaac Okoro scored 15 points apiece.

Powell will try to maintain his mindset on offense heading into Saturday.

"(I was) just being aggressive, trying to get downhill," he said. "That was the emphasis of the game. I was just picking my spots, reading my spots and attacking the switches."

The Bulls won their first game without rookie Caleb Wilson, who will be sidelined for the next four to six weeks because of a broken hand.

"It's going to be by committee," Powell said. "Every single night, it's going to be somebody else stepping up. It's going to be a collective effort every night. We don't know who it's going to be, but we've all got to pull for each other, root for each other."

For Minnesota, Edwards (33.3 points per game in four contests) and Ball (18.6) lead the team in scoring. The next three players on the list are Ayo Dosunmu (18.1), Jaden McDaniels (16.9) and Jonathan Kuminga (12.4).

Saturday will mark the first of two meetings between Chicago and Minnesota this season. The teams also will square off Jan. 14 in Chicago.

-Field Level Media