Visibly upset after Game 1, you just knew Chet Holmgren was going to bounce back. The 23-year-old might have the occasional stinker, but never two in a row. He only needed the first quarter to prove that, as he exceeded his Game 1 point total.
The Oklahoma City Thunder evened the NBA Finals at 1-1 with a 123-107 Game 2 win over the Indiana Pacers. After barely using the Holmgren-Hartenstein lineup in Game 1, the Thunder went back to it in spurts and had at least one big on the floor.
Holmgren finished with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, six rebounds and one assist. He shot 1-of-3 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws. He also had a block. Off the bench, Isaiah Hartenstein had three points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Receiving the inbound pass, Holmgren faked the corner attempt and drove past Turner for a scoop layup in the final seconds of the first frame. That was a perfect move to finish a hot start and flexing his confidence hasn’t gone anywhere.
The Thunder stuck with their Game 1 starters and reaped the benefits. They didn’t overreact to an anomaly. Instead, they relied on what the lineup data has suggested all year. The Holmgren-Hartenstein lineup was back on the table after barely being played in Game 1. It worked out tremendously in their limited reps. Hartenstein even connected with Holmgren on an alley-oop.
“They were both really good in both situations. I thought both of them gave us huge lifts on both ends of the floor. That was one area where we improved tonight, was our pick-and-roll coverage against their bigs. They’re a different look because of the rolling, the popping, just the way they play,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on Holmgren-Hartenstein. “I thought one area that we really improved was on the defensive end in that area of the game. They both were great. I thought Chet, in particular, had a rough offensive night in Game 1. As always, he rose back up and was really, really good.”
This is probably the best usage of Holmgren. He’s at his peak at center. The Pacers always had to second-guess themselves when they drove to the basket. When he gets it going as a scorer, that makes the Thunder even more dangerous.
And then Hartenstein has been fantastic off the bench. He’s been a rebound machine. He helped the Thunder stay within it on the boards. They also utilized his classic big-man screening to create space for their drivers and created some second-unit action.
“I think we did a good job of being aggressive and then playing more on two feet, making some decisions in that mid-paint area where in last game we were kind of just putting up those shots,” Holmgren said. “I think we did a better job of finding some better looks, whether it was dunker’s baseline or kick-outs, whatever it may be, I feel like we did a good job of slowing down in that space.”
#HolmgrenHartenstein #Thunder #NBA #Finals #Game #win #Pacers
