Watch: Amen Thompson helps Rockets steal win in Minnesota

Thompson played a season-high 38 minutes in the win, blocking three shots and picking up four steals, one coming with 42 seconds left. After swiping the ball from Wolves rookie Rob Dillingham, Thompson made the game-tying shot to send the game to overtime. In the extra period, he knocked down a three-pointer that kicked off an 11-0 run that won the game.

But it took two huge defensive plays from Thompson to even get them to the extra period. One possession before his big steal, he drew a charge on Julius Randle. It's a testament to Thompson's defensive versatility that he made one great defensive play on a quick, 6-foot-3, 173-pound point guard and another on a 6-foot-9, 249-pound power forward.

Thompson played most of the fourth quarter in place of shooting guard Jalen Green, who scored just two points after halftime. Coach Ime Udoka replaced Thompson with Green late in the fourth, and Minnesota went on a 6-0 run. Thompson played the rest of the quarter and OT.

Green also got benched in the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. It's not just that Thompson is an excellent defensive player. It's that Green is an offense-first player who is shooting 38.1 percent from the floor and 30.3 percent from three-point range, both career worsts.

Houston can still use Green's shot creation, but if he can't make shots, there are simply too many talented Rockets on the bench ready to take his minutes. Even Thompson, an awful shooter in his rookie season, is closer to the respectable range of bad this year. All his percentages have gone up, and his three-point shooting (on a small sample of attempts) has gone from 13.8 percent to 31.6 percent.

Green will keep his spot in the starting lineup for now, but Thompson may have earned himself a spot in the closing lineup for the foreseeable future. Regularly making game-saving plays will do that.