MINNEAPOLIS -- Jimmy Butler scored a season-high 25 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 119-116 victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.Karl-Anthony Towns had season highs with 33 points and 19 rebounds, and Jeff Teague added 17 points and 10 assists for Minnesota, which beat Oklahoma City last Sunday on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Andrew Wiggins.Wiggins chipped in 14 points on Friday, and Taj Gibson had his best game with the Timberwolves with 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting and eight rebounds.Russell Westbrook had 27 points, eight rebounds and nine assists for the Thunder, who have lost three of their past four games. Carmelo Anthony and Paul George each scored 23 points for Oklahoma City.Nuggets 105, Hawks 100ATLANTA -- The Denver Nuggets snapped a five-season losing streak in Atlanta, spoiling the Hawks' home opener and making a winner of Paul Millsap in his return to Philips Arena.Milllsap scored seven of his 16 points down... [More]

G Jimmy Butler missed a second consecutive game. Butler is recovering from an upper-respiratory infection.

G Jimmy Butler (upper respitory infection) missed Tuesday's game against the Pacers. Butler averaged 13.3 points in his first three games with Minnesota this season.

G Jimmy Butler, one of Minnesota's flashy offseason signings, scored 12 points in his debut with his new team. He clearly was disappointed with the outcome. "We didn't rebound like we were capable of, and we turned the ball over late in the game and we can't do that."

Power forward Blake Griffin opted out of his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday and point guard Chris Paul will do the same sometime next week, according to multiple published reports.The decisions would make both players unrestricted free agents on July 1.The departure of the two stars could possibly leave the Clippers in a reorganization mode after the current group has been unable to reach the Western Conference finals. Neither player is expected to fully close the door on a possible return.Speculation has Paul being a target of the San Antonio Spurs. The nine-time All-Star averaged 18.1 points and 9.2 assists last season.Griffin could be highly pursued by his hometown Oklahoma City Thunder to give Russell Westbrook a high-impact running mate that was missing last season after Kevin Durant's departure. The five-time All-Star averaged 21.6 points and 8.1 rebounds last season but has been plagued by injuries over the past three seasons.--Finding an identity under coach Fred... [More]

Finding an identity under coach Fred Hoiberg meant trading the face of the franchise for the Chicago Bulls.All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler was relocated to the Minnesota Timberwolves after more than a year of simmering trade talks involving Butler, who reunites with former coach Tom Thibodeau. "What we've done," Bulls vice president John Paxson said, "is set a direction. We've decided to make the change and rebuild this roster. We're going to do it with young players we believe can play a system Fred is comfortable with."Last summer, the Bulls parted with Joakim Noah and traded former point guard Derrick Rose to the New York Knicks. Another step away from contention and into rebuilding mode was the best path, per Paxson."We understand what this means," Paxson said. "It's going to be a difficult process."Hoiberg installed a run-and-gun system predicated on successful 3-point shooting. But Butler and Dwyane Wade were the centerpieces of the offense -- one piloted by pass-first, light-shooting... [More]

NEW YORK -- For the last four years, the mantra of the Philadelphia 76ers has been "trust the process."As the anticipation intensified and commissioner Adam Silver said the 76ers "were on the clock," fans at Barclays Center began chanting to express their excitement to another young piece being added to Philadelphia.With about 90 seconds left in the Sixers' allotted five minutes, Markelle Fultz officially became the first overall pick in Thursday's draft.The former Washington point guard averaged 23.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists in 25 games. In his only collegiate season, Fultz shot 47.6 percent from the field, made 41.3 percent of his 3-point attempts, reached double figures 24 times and set a school record for points by a freshman with 579."I'm very excited really, just like the fans in Philly, how they back up their players and everything like that," Fultz said. "And I'm just looking forward to going in there and giving it my all and hopefully changing the program around."The... [More]

Jimmy Butler is being reunited with Tom Thibodeau.Moments before the Los Angeles Lakers made Lonzo Ball the second pick of Thursday's NBA draft, multiple outlets reported Butler was going to be dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves.NBA commissioner Adam Silver confirmed the trade later in the evening.Butler was dealt for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the rights to Lauri Markkanen. Also going to Minnesota are the rights to Justin Patton, who was picked at No. 16 by the Bulls.Butler was the 30th overall pick by the Bulls in 2011 out of Marquette. He averaged a career-high 23.9 points last season as the Bulls were 41-41 and qualified for the postseason as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.Thibodeau coached Butler from 2011 to 2015 before being fired. He joined the Timberwolves last season with the dual title of coach and head of basketball operations.Last season, the teams worked on a potential deal for Butler, but talks collapsed based on the belief that Chicago's demands were too high.... [More]

Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade is picking up his $23.8 million player option for next season.The 35-year-old Wade informed the Bulls of his decision Tuesday night. The former Miami Heat star had until June 27 to inform the team.When asked by TNT about his decision, Wade said: "24 million reasons."The Chicago native averaged 18.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in his first season with the Bulls in 2016-17. He played in 60 games and was sidelined late in the season with a fractured elbow. The scoring average was the second lowest of his 14-year career."18.3 points a game in 29 mins on 43 percent shooting at 35 years old. if I'm 25 with the same numbers I'm getting 150 million," Wade wrote on Twitter just after midnight Wednesday morning.Wade told the Bulls he did not want to be part of a rebuilding process and his decision came with the team at the center of trade rumors involving All-Star Jimmy Butler before Thursday night's NBA Draft.The Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics,... [More]

Chicago Bulls shooting guard Dwyane Wade is reportedly leaning toward exercising his $24 million player option to remain with the franchise next season.The 35-year-old Wade has until June 27 to make a decision.The Chicago native averaged 18.3 points in his first season with the Bulls. He played in 60 games and was sidelined late in the season with a fractured elbow. The scoring average was the second lowest of his 14-year career.Wade told the Bulls he didn't want to be part of a rebuilding process, so the former Miami Heat star is certainly closely watching the situation involving All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler.The Bulls are shopping Butler leading up to Thursday's NBA Draft. The Cleveland Cavaliers have reportedly expressed interest and could be willing to part with power forward Kevin Love as part of a three-team trade.Butler will reportedly push the Bulls' front office to get a deal done with the Cavaliers, the Chicago Sun Times reports. The newspaper also reported that multiple Cavs players, including stars LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, have reached out to Butler to gauge his interest. The Boston Celtics, who have a slew of draft picks to offer, are also reportedly interested in Butler.

G Jimmy Butler, hobbled by knee soreness, led Chicago with 23 points.Butler played 31 minutes despite dealing with knee soreness. Asked if Butler had taken any medication for the soreness, coach Fred Hoiberg said he did not know. "He's obviously got some soreness, but Jimmy's going to fight through it," Hoiberg said before Friday's game. "He's a warrior, he's a guy that is as well-conditioned as anyone in this league and he's going to go out and give everything that he has."

G Jimmy Butler had 33 points and nine assists in the loss Sunday.

G Jimmy Butler had 22 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and four steals to help the Bulls earn a 111-97 victory over Boston in Game 2 on Tuesday night.

G Jimmy Butler produced a breakout final period that was enough to carry the Chicago Bulls past the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the opener of a first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.Butler scored 15 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, including five during an 8-0 run midway through the period that put Chicago in control, and the Bulls held on to beat the Celtics 106-102 Sunday night.Butler also pulled down nine rebounds as the Bulls capitalized on their size advantage and controlled the inside.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bulls are headed back to the postseason.Jimmy Butler scored a team-high 25 points and Chicago clinched a berth in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 112-73 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night. Rookie forward Paul Zipser added a career-high 21 points off the bench as the Bulls (41-41) earned the No. 8 seed. They will meet No. 1 seed Boston.Archie Goodwin scored 20 points to lead the Nets, who benched a half-dozen players in their final game. Brooklyn (20-62) finished with the worst record in the NBA and the fourth-most losses in franchise history.Pacers 104, Hawks 86INDIANAPOLIS -- Paul George tallied 32 points and 11 rebounds, and Jeff Teague added 19 points and seven assists before rolling his left ankle late in the fourth quarter, leading Indiana to a playoff-clinching victory over Atlanta.The Pacers earned the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference and will open against the No. 2 seed Cleveland Cavaliers. Teague went directly to the locker room... [More]

G Jimmy Butler scored a game-high 25 points against the Nets as the Bulls earned the No. 8 playoff seed. "We all did our job to get us into the playoffs. Now it's about winning some games. We've just got to stick together and focus on ourselves."

G Jimmy Butler hit his shots and did his usual thing on offense, but in a game the Chicago Bulls absolutely needed, their defensive inconsistencies appeared at the most inopportune time.Butler produced another big game with 33 points, but the Bulls were done in by a poor first half and an even worse final 4 1/2 minutes, resulting in a 107-106 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.Butler went 12 of 22 from the floor and scored 20 points after halftime.

G Jimmy Butler filled in at point guard for an injured Rajon Rondo and contributed his second triple-double of the season -- 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists -- as the Bulls beat Philadelphia 102-90. The triple-double was also the fourth of his career. "I'm dialed in -- not numbers-wise, because I know (where) I want to take this team," Butler said. "I know these guys count on me to show up every single night, and that's what I'm trying to do down the stretch."

G Jimmy Butler scored 26 points in a 100-91 loss to the Knicks. "We didn't come out with the fire that we needed to," Butler said. "They came out like they were playing for something and we didn't. They whipped our tail in every aspect of the game." Butler was named the NBA's Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the third time this season. He is the first Bull to earn three Player of the Week honors since Michael Jordan in 1997-98.

F/G Jimmy Butler scored 25 of his game-high 39 points in the first half and logged a team-high 39 minutes to power the Chicago Bulls to a 117-110 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday at the Smoothie King Center."Yeah, I'm dialed in," Butler said after leading Chicago (38-39) to its fourth straight victory and fifth in six games. "I think I'm rolling and playing well and doing what my team needs me to do, and we're winning, so at the end of the day, that's all that matters."Butler scored 25 points in the second half against the Hawks on Saturday, including the Bulls' final nine points. He showed no signs of weariness on the second game of a back-to-back, torching the Pelicans for 25 points in the first half on 9-of-11 shooting.Butler was 14 of 26 from the floor and added six rebounds and five assists.