Patrick Williams gives Bulls something to build on after early bench struggles

Patrick Williams started the season collecting DNPs. Now he’s giving the Bulls reasons to keep him on the floor.

Williams delivered another encouraging performance Saturday, helping a productive bench carry Chicago to a 117-106 win over the Timberwolves. For a team that entered the weekend with one victory, finding dependable contributions from Williams would be a welcome development.

As Elias Schuster of Bulls on SI detailed, Williams played with increased confidence, mixing jumpers with aggressive finishes inside. His biggest shot came with just over a minute remaining, when a 3-pointer pushed the lead to 116-106.

Williams, Buddy Hield and Tre Jones each scored at least 14 points and combined to shoot 18-of-28. The Bulls’ bench outscored Minnesota’s reserves 50-33, providing much-needed help on the second night of a back-to-back following an overtime game.

Hield made four of six 3-pointers, and Chicago finished 14-of-30 from deep after hitting 20 threes the previous night. That shooting gave the Bulls enough offense despite missing frontcourt regulars Nic Claxton and Jalen Smith.

Minnesota helped, too. LaMelo Ball went 7-of-25 from the field, including 4-of-19 on threes. Rudy Gobert managed one point on 0-of-7 shooting despite the Bulls’ depleted interior.

Those struggles contributed to the result, but Chicago still had to take advantage. Its reserves did, helping the Bulls improve to 3-9 with a second straight victory.

Williams’ role is worth watching from here. A player who began the season struggling to get minutes is now helping finish games. The Bulls could use more of that, starting Monday against the Cavs.