Amen Thompson Dropped a Career-High 41. The Rockets Still Lost.

Amen Thompson put up the best game of his career on Friday night — 41 points on 15-of-24 shooting, 7-of-8 from the free throw line, 9 rebounds. It still wasn't enough.

The Timberwolves beat the Rockets 136-132 in a back-and-forth affair at Toyota Center, snapping Houston's 8-game winning streak. Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 28 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 25, and the Wolves' balanced attack simply outgunned Thompson's solo heroics.

The loss locked the Rockets into the 5 seed in the Western Conference. But the performance from Thompson is the kind of thing that makes you believe Houston's future is in good hands. A 22-year-old dropping 41 in a meaningful late-season game? That's not a fluke. That's a preview.