OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Chet Holmgren made every shot he took against Golden State.
The versatile Thunder forward went 9-for-9 shooting from the field, made both of his 3-pointers and all three of his free throw attempts. He had 23 points and 11 rebounds to help Oklahoma City roll past the Warriors 126-102 on Tuesday night.
Holmgren did not realize during the game that he was chasing perfection. He didn’t play in the fourth quarter because the Thunder had the game well in hand.
“I wasn’t really paying attention,” he said. “I was just trying to make plays, win the basketball game. I didn’t see that ’til afterwards. But I knew I was shooting pretty good.”
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Holmgren’s movement in transition, spacing and creativity within the system have helped him succeed. He felt a breakout performance was inevitable given the way Holmgren had been playing.
“I think that’s been brewing since the beginning of the season,” Daigneault said.
Holmgren is one of the main reasons the Thunder are off to an 11-1 start. He has increased his output and become more efficient while helping fill the void left by Jalen Williams, the All-Star who is recovering from wrist surgery and has not played this season.
Through eight games, the 7-foot-1 Holmgren is averaging 19.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. He’s shooting 59.3% from the field, 37.1% from 3-point range and 87.8% from the free-throw line.
He missed 50 games last season after suffering a pelvic injury from a fall, and though he came back and helped the team win the NBA title, he felt he looked slow and didn’t have enough lift on his shot. He said the keys to his growth are what he learned from last year’s championship run and what he did with that knowledge in the offseason.
“I’ve learned how to get better now,” he said. “I know what I have to get better at. Before, I was just working hard because I wanted to work hard. And that’s kind of just what I do. And I love to play basketball every day. But going through a long playoff stretch and winning the Finals, you really get the best shot up to seven times in a row from really good teams. And that teaches you what you have to work on.”
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
By CLIFF BRUNT
AP Sports Writer
