OKLAHOMA CITY — Chet Holmgren led a suffocating defensive effort by the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder of their 105-93 win Wednesday over the San Antonio Spurs. But in speedy aftermath, the 22-year-old discovered himself downplaying the budding rivalry with Spurs 7-footer Victor Wembanyama.
Requested concerning the spectacle of the matchup with Wembanyama, who unanimously gained NBA Rookie of the 12 months final season, Holmgren, the runner-up, chalked all of it as much as promotion.
“As a result of the NBA is a enterprise, and the league has been constructed round gamers taking part in basketball,” Holmgren stated. “It is about getting folks to return and watch the video games. That is one of many methods they do it: by promoting the gamers. I simply see it as a type of commercial. It would not change what our mission is. We’re attempting to win the basketball video games. The NBA is gonna deal with the enterprise round it.”
Holmgren definitely took care of enterprise on the court docket, although he matched up in opposition to the Spurs star on only some events, going 2-for-3 with Wembanyama defending for seven factors.
Holmgren, in the meantime, restricted San Antonio’s shooters to 10 factors on 4-for-17 from the ground and 0-for-7 from deep as the first defender.
The Thunder completed with 18 steals, 9 in every half, for his or her second most in a recreation for the reason that staff arrived in Oklahoma Metropolis for the 2008-09 season. Six gamers (Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, Ousmane Dieng, Ajay Mitchell) devoured up a number of steals, which ties for his or her most in a single outing for the reason that franchise moved.
As a staff, the Thunder racked up 27 factors off 22 Spurs turnovers.
“We gained tonight on the defensive finish,” Holmgren stated. “It wasn’t good on offense. I really feel like we had been very strong virtually all through the entire recreation on the defensive finish.”
Holmgren opened the evening with a block on Wembanyama and a steal off Jeremy Sochan on San Antonio’s first possession. Holmgren completed as the sport’s second-leading scorer with 19 factors, 5 rebounds and a pair of assists to go together with 2 steals and a pair of blocks.
When Holmgren contested photographs as the first or assist defender, San Antonio shot 2-for-12 from the ground. He served as the first defender for simply two of Wembanyama’s photographs, each misses.
Wembanyama has struggled over his first 4 video games, capturing 22-for-54 from the sector with 15 whole turnovers.
Wearing a white Nike sweatsuit, Wembanyama tied up his dimension 20.5 footwear and took a seat to replicate on an evening wherein he logged profession lows in factors (6) and subject objectives (1). He shook his head when requested if he was getting the photographs he wished on a nightly foundation.
“I am not getting straightforward photographs,” Wembanyama stated. “I’ve to be approach higher at making ready. In fact, my shot feels good. Bodily, I really feel good. However I should be significantly better at making ready and getting circumstances to have these straightforward photographs.”
After the sport, Popovich apologized to the media assembled at Paycom Middle for taking so lengthy to start out his postgame information convention. The coach stated he wanted to deal with the staff first. Popovich did not take questions.
“That is an excellent defensive staff,” he stated. “It is a playoff staff that is very probably going very deep into the playoffs. They’re a greater staff than we’re. However that is inappropriate. We’re attempting to get to their degree.”
Wembanyama addressed Popovich’s assertion that San Antonio loses focus in video games and stated the staff could also be “feeling a little bit misplaced,” including that “generally we get rather less strong. I feel that is sort of the problem greater than engagement.”
He additionally spoke on all the additional consideration that comes with going through off in opposition to Holmgren. Each gamers usually attempt to deflect the hoopla away from the person matchup to focus the eye on the groups.
Is it exhausting?
“It isn’t,” Wembanyama stated, “as a result of I haven’t got a social community proper now. I am not following that in any respect. So I do not really feel that. However each time I am going up in opposition to a superb participant at that place, it is a completely different sort of problem as a result of it isn’t the case with each staff. Not each staff has an offensive-minded huge. So it is all the time a superb problem.”