The Timberwolves are currently sans Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, and figure to be for weeks to come.

The team announced Wednesday that Randle has a strained adductor and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.

In his absence, Minnesota had lost to Sacramento and Washington, and was in a tight duel with a short-handed Chicago team Wednesday at Target Center.

Thankfully, the Timberwolves do still have one major scorer they can rely on -- Anthony Edwards. With Minnesota leading by just two at the break after blowing a 21-point first-quarter advantage thanks to some inept defense, Edwards cranked up the dial, scoring 20 of his 49 points in the third quarter to guide Minnesota to a 127-108 victory.

“The way we are right now, we need these big nights from him,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “Loved his aggressiveness, getting to the line.”

He did the latter 18 times Wednesday against a Chicago team that allows the most points in the paint in the NBA. Edwards also buried six triples. It was an ideal balance of both for the 23-year-old guard, who was determined not to allow his team to drop another home game to a foe it should beat.

Chicago was on the second half of a back to back and didn’t dress any of the players it received after trading Zach LaVine to Sacramento. Half of the Bulls’ current roster could be moved by Thursday’s trade deadline. Lonzo Ball was out with injury management.

The Bulls looked like a team out of the gates that had no interest in joining the fight. Minnesota led 27-6 at one point in the first quarter. And then it allowed Chicago to roar all the way back to take a lead in the second quarter after Chicago scored 56 points in a 15-minute span.

Edwards looked up at the scoreboard at one point in the second quarter and thought, “Damn, we down.”

Something had to be done.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t say I wanted to be aggressive, but yeah I did want to be aggressive,” Edwards said. “That’s all the coaches been telling us this past week: We terrible at home. We bring all this energy on road and away games. We don’t bring it at home. I definitely wanted to bring some today.”

It certainly wasn’t an inspiring performance for the Wolves given the opponent. Minnesota played multiple quarters of bad basketball. But the Wolves got a win they desperately needed. Thursday’s trade deadline lurks, but Minnesota doesn’t seem like a team destined to be active in the same way many of its Western Conference counterparts have been.

The Wolves have enough to win. They show that one some evenings, then not on others. Edwards is a part of that equation. When he looks like a top-five player in the world, Minnesota can beat just about anyone. When he doesn’t, well, the Wolves are susceptible.

The more times Minnesota (28-23) gets the all-star wing who wouldn’t be denied entry to the paint on Wednesday, the better off it’ll be in the long run.

Edwards was attacking the rim with reckless abandon in the closing minutes against Chicago (22-30), desperately trying to get to 50 points, a tally he’s hit two prior times in his career, but a missed free throw and multiple missed layups ended the effort. No problem, Edwards said.

“It’s not frustrating. It’s a game, I’m 23,” Edwards said. “If God let me I should be to play for at least 10 more years until I’m 33, and if I’m as good as I think I should be able to get 50 points. So, like, I wanted to get 50, but it’s not like, ‘Aw, man.’ I’ll be all right.”