'He’s just rocking': How Chet Holmgren sparked OKC Thunder rout of Clippers with lob dunk
So much for the memories.
The fiery dunks, the pizza rolls, the next questions, and all the hearts that Russell Westbrook, James Harden and the Thunder’s first Big Three stole in Oklahoma City’s early days. The MVP-caliber seasons, the Dame Time-induced heartbreak that came of Westbrook and Paul George’s Thunder era.
All three of the franchise’s former stars took the stage for a red-hot Los Angeles Clippers team in OKC’s 134-115 win Thursday. George to the shotmaking Thunder fans once loved him for, Westbrook to a standing ovation that looked like a Bon Jovi concert.
It only took a lob and an atypical rookie’s gall to veer off memory lane.
OKC was down one when Chet Holmgren paid homage to the greats before him. He sized up Clipper center Ivica Zubac, hesitating before reaching the free-throw line and head faking Zubac into a hurdle. Perhaps not even Tracy McGrady could fathom what came next.
Holmgren catapulted the ball off the backboard, which cinematically found its way back into his hands for an explosive slam. Holmgren hadn’t even known the Clippers had taken the lead. The Thunder kept any memory of the run as short as any welcome.
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Even without Josh Giddey, who exited the game with a left ankle sprain, or Jalen Williams, who eventually returned after tweaking his own ankle, OKC was glued to its identity.
To recognizing changes in coverages, to forcing Los Angeles out of rhythm. The three straight 3-pointers Harden and George knocked down to open the half became a small ripple in the Paycom pond. In the 2:30 that followed George’s 3, OKC embarked on a 13-0 run, which included Holmgren’s gutsy move.
Holmgren, who finished with 23 points, six rebounds and seven assists left his fingerprints all over his third-quarter appearance the way he did earlier in the week. 3-point responses, jump passes to a cutting Lu Dort, making Zubac look foolish.
“That was like an at-the-park move," Holmgren said. "Just growing up hooping at the courts. I guess it just happened, it’s not like 'I’ma do this.'
“I don't know where it came from, honestly."
Neither did his team.
“We don’t work on that,” coach Mark Daigneault said. “That’s not part of his player development. He’s just rocking.”
The ever-thin, always impossible 7-foot-1 freshman rocked the cradle after his dunk, too. After a play that effectively sent the Clippers into an abyss and snapped a nine-game win streak, Holmgren might be rocking the Thunder all the way through a new era.
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Filling up the bingo card
The Thunder’s Thursday win had all the elements of a game that would drive any opponent crazy.
If it wasn’t the 11-point Giddey first quarter, surely it was Lu Dort drilling three 3s en route to 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting. If it wasn’t Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finding a way to 31 points after being 6-for 17 at one point, maybe it was the block Isaiah Joe had.
If none of that pushed the Clippers over the edge, Holmgren’s audition for the And-1 tour should’ve.
OKC shot 58.6% from the field and a scorching 47.1% from 3. Williams reentered the game and immediately got found his favorite spots to pull up from. Aaron Wiggins, per usual, found himself in the right places at the right time.
Too much trended OKC's way for it to drop its reunion with Harden, Westbrook and George.
All that might’ve been missing was a pair of Kenrich Williams’ backboard free throws.
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Chet Holmgren’s playmaking
Amid all that went right for Holmgren, he pieced together what felt like his best professional game as a passer.
The reads, the ball placement, the initiation. None of it made sense for a man of his size. Though as the weeks have passed, we’ve reached a point where it just feels right.
But maybe not to the degree he made plays on Wednesday. He finished with a career-high seven assists after all, a few of them pivotal to pushing the Clippers away in the third quarter.
“He’s smart,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “He’s a student of the game, always wants to learn. So he’s gonna get better at reading the game every game he plays.”
His processing has improved, his handle has grown even more fluid. In learning him, the Thunder has changed the way it attacks teams who switch smaller guys on him. Still, for every off-the-dribble pass he made Thursday, a set of eyes should fly from a fan’s head the way Jim Carrey’s mask would.
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Thunder tip-ins
Thursday marked Holmgren’s fourth game without a block this season. Fourth. Plenty of that could be attributed to LA’s guard and wing-lined lineups. He entered Thursday’s game blocking a league-leading 9% of the 2-point attempts that are shot while he’s on the floor.
Behind a 13-0 run, the Thunder rattled off a 45-point third quarter Thursday.
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior sat courtside at Thursday’s game. He and Gilgeous-Alexander linked up after the game.
Thunder vs. Lakers
TIPOFF: 7 p.m. Saturday at Paycom Center (Bally Sports Oklahoma)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Chet Holmgren sparks OKC Thunder rout of Clippers with lob dunk
