CHICAGO — Coby White has blossomed into a star.
The fifth-year guard sizzled with 33 points to help the Chicago Bulls rally from a 23-point deficit to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in overtime, 129-123, on Tuesday night at the United Center.
DeMar DeRozan also scored 33 points to frustrate the Wolves, who led 74-51 after Anthony Edwards nailed a 25-foot three-pointer at the 10:32 mark of the third quarter.
The Bulls then went on a 64-41 run to force overtime.
“We started to make shots and the crowd starts to get into it, get behind and we changed the momentum of the game. But it’s not a fun way to live, digging ourselves in a hole. We’ve got a figure out a way to at least not not make the first half and second half look drastically different,” White said.
Last Saturday against the Kings at home, the Bulls also had to rally from a 30-point deficit. That one, however, ended up in an eight-point loss.
Besides the combined 66-point outburst from White and DeRozan, Chicago also got 24 points and six rebounds to repel the Timberwolves, who at 35-16 are one of the surprising teams of this 2023-24 season.
After a slow start, the Bulls finished 48.4 percent from the field (45-of-93) and 40 percent from beyond the arc (12-of-30). The Timberwolves, on the other hand, connected on 45.7 percent of their field goals (42-of-92) and a high 44.4 percent of their triples (20-of-45).
Despite a huge uptick in his performance the past few months White deflected all the glory of the Minnesota comeback to his veteran teammate, DeRozan.
“He’s Mr. Fourth Quarter or Mr. Overtime. That’s when winning time occurs.”
Although not voted or named as an All-Star this season, White is certainly playing like one.
Through 59 games this season, the University of North Carolina alum has averaged 19.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists a contest.
