Familiar chants of ‘M-V-P’ fill UC as Derrick Rose returns to beat Bulls

Injured Bulls guard Zach LaVine was back playing at the United Center on Wednesday.

The problem was, so were Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson.

And for the Bulls, it was far from one big, happy reunion.

Playing for just the second time in Chicago since being traded by his hometown team in June 2016, Rose put on a clinic with 24 points and eight assists in the Timberwolves’ 119-94 victory, continuing to rewrite a career story that had once seemed to be in its final chapters. Karl-Anthony Towns added 20 points and 20 rebounds for the Timberwolves, and Gibson, another former Bull, added 16 points.

It was like a throwback game for Rose, from a time before knee injuries shelved him and the NBA game seemed to pass him by.

Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau, Rose’s former coach with the Bulls, said he believed Rose could come back.

“And the reason why was I studied,” Thibodeau said. “I watched a lot of their games when he played in New York, and I think the thing people forget about with Derrick was he was MVP at 22, so he’s still young, and that’s the biggest thing. And I always felt if he got back to being healthy that he could be very productive.

“It’s different if a guy is mid-30s, late-30s, and then you’re saying, ‘That would be a stretch.’ But because of his age, I thought he had the capability again. And the guy we used [as a comparison] was Tim Hardaway, who went through something similar [at] Golden State, was injured and came back and had great years in Miami. If Derrick can remain healthy, it is going to be great for him.”

RELATED

• Bulls coach Jim Boylen not worried about the Tom Thibodeau comparisons

• Jim Boylen has staying power — at least more than some of his Bulls players

What was great for Rose on Wednesday was bad for the Bulls (9-26). Rose scored 10 of the Timberwolves’ 29 points in the first quarter. A 29-18 lead grew to 60-37 by halftime.

From there, it was mostly a going-through-the-motions game for the Bulls, except for LaVine, who scored 28 points against his former team in his return after missing five games because of a sprained left ankle.

It was the only good news on a night that largely belonged to Rose, the former Simeon star who seemed destined for China or Europe after a drama-filled season with the Knicks following his exit from Chicago.

“Every story has a beginning, a middle and an end, and I think his end is going to be great,” said Thibodeau, who’s now 5-1 against the Bulls since leaving Chicago.

Rose’s night at the United Center was highlighted by chants of “M-V-P.”

“I had to crack a smile a little bit,” Rose said. “It made me reminisce about some of the old days and how grateful I was to be in that position at a young age and just trying to take all of it in. With the year I’m having, it was very special to come in here and play. I didn’t expect it to be like this, overwhelming at some points, and you can still tell the support is still here.”