Zach LaVine showcases his two-way game for Timberwolves

With the Timberwolves leading by a bucket and the game on the line in Tuesday's final minute at Chicago, the Bulls put the ball in the hands of superstar Dwyane Wade.

By doing so, they also put young Wolves guard Zach LaVine out on an island.

Defending Wade by himself on the right wing, LaVine took away the drive and forced the 12-time All Star and three-time NBA champion into a step-back three-point shot that went long and missed everything.

In an instant, Wolves point guard Ricky Rubio grabbed the rebound, took two dribbles upcourt and with a 60-foot lead pass found LaVine sprinting behind both Wade and fellow Bulls star Jimmy Butler for a layup.

Tied at 91 just moments before, the Wolves quickly led by four points with 52 seconds left and were in the midst of an 8-0 run that won the game, partly because of both LaVine's offense and, yes, defense.

He led the Wolves with 24 points on a night when the Wolves reversed course from an early 26-6 deficit and won 99-94, surprisingly enough because of their defense and rebounding that allowed them to run the floor and score just like LaVine did with the game in doubt.

"Zach is making great strides right now," Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau said afterward. "Not only offensively, but defensively as well."

Those 10 seconds from one end of the floor to the other demonstrated as much.

"It's crunch time, mano a mano," LaVine said, describing the sequence in two languages. "Dwyane Wade is a future Hall of Famer. You just have to buckle up. I always felt like I'm a good one-on-one defensive player. Just kept him in front of me, contested up, that's what you have to do."

That's what LaVine did, much to Thibodeau's admiration.

"Wade is a tough cover," said Thibodeau. "He has every trick in the book. He's going to make you pay for things. It's a challenge. A guy like that, you can only make him work. He's going to get points and he's going to make plays and he's going to put pressure on you."

One of Wade's favorite tricks involves faking a shot, a tactic he never attempted after LaVine cut off his drive and forced him back beyond the three-point arc.

"You know it's coming," Thibodeau said. "He sells it better than anyone. Jimmy [Butler] does also."

LaVine's defense negated one of Wade's weapons. His ability and willingness to run the floor offensively helped the Wolves get back in the game and overcome a Bulls team that has beaten both Cleveland and San Antonio but has lost to the Wolves, Dallas, Denver and the Los Angeles Lakers.

"Just try to run, get out there and use my speed," LaVine said. "I could see they were getting back a little slower. I just try to turn the burners on and get eye contact with Ricky and get some really easy points."

Thibodeau knows the offensive talent LaVine and young teammates Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns offer, but the Wolves need more.

"They have world-class athleticism," Thibodeau said. "We see it a lot offensively, but I want to see it defensively as well: to make great-effort plays, to cover a lot of ground, to challenge shots, to rebound."

Thibodeau praised his team's rebounding Tuesday, particularly that of LaVine, Wiggins and Rubio. Wiggins had nine boards, LaVine six, Rubio five. LaVine (six) and Rubio (10) also combined for 16 assists.

"When they get rebounds, it gets us into the open floor and that's hard to stop," Thibodeau said.

To rebound you must defend first and that the Wolves remarkably did Tuesday, so much so that Wiggins made a joke afterward by saying that even LaVine blocked a shot with 17 seconds remaining.

"Feels great," LaVine said about his team's defense. "We've been slacking on that part of the game. It felt good to finally get it right. Now we know we can do it and now we just have to do it consistently.''