Rolling to the basket, Chet Holmgren completed the alley-oop by throwing down a lob pass from Jared Butler early in the second quarter. This was the first of several dunks from the seven-footer in his best summer league performance of the year.
Holmgren’s dominant night highlighted the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 98-87 win over the Indiana Pacers. After sitting the first night of this back-to-back, the 2022 No. 2 pick showed out in what is likely his final summer league game.
“I think (we’re) doing a better job each game of not only competing but carrying some of the stuff over from film,” Thunder summer league coach Kam Woods said about the win.
After sitting out most of their notable players the night before, the Thunder elected to roll them out for what is likely one final time. The Thunder’s two 2022 lottery picks that played didn’t disappoint. Holmgren and Ousmane Dieng turned in their best summer league games. The duo combined for 47 points on 18-of-26 (69.2%) from the field as they steamrolled the Pacers.
“The chemistry was really good in the team. … It was just moving the ball … having fun on the court,” Dieng said about the team’s performance.
The Thunder led the entire night with a lead as large as 17 points. The Thunder entered halftime with a 50-39 lead and lost only two points of that lead by the end of the third quarter.
The Pacers made it interesting in the final frame. They cut OKC’s lead to eight points, but the Thunder answered every threat with mini-runs of their own to keep a healthy distance on the scoreboard.
With several prominent players returning, OKC’s offense returned to robust levels of production. The Thunder shot 40-of-76 (52.6%) from the field — an even more impressive number considering they shot an underwhelming 6-of-24 (25%) from 3.
Led by Holmgren, the Thunder dominated inside of the paint as they outscored the Pacers, 58-34. While the offense was pretty, the Thunder defense was also at its best by limiting Indiana.
The Pacers struggled to generate offense against Holmgren and company. Indiana shot 33-of-87 (37.9%) from the field and went 12-of-38 (31.6%) from 3. The Pacers also committed 11 turnovers to just 17 assists. They even struggled from the free-throw line, where they went an ugly 9-of-19 (47.4%).
“There’s definitely some chemistry and some confidence in my teammates to know I have their back down there by the rim,” Holmgren said. “It gives them more confidence to get up and pressure knowing that if they get beat, I got their back.”
Lottery rookie Jarace Walker stood out for the Pacers. He finished with 20 points on 8-of-19 shooting and nine rebounds. Second-round rookie Isaiah Wong also had 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting and four assists.
The Thunder improve to 2-1 in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, the Pacers suffered their first defeat and sit 2-1.
If this is truly the final summer league game for most of the notable Thunder players, then they went out with their most impressive performance — both as individuals and as a collective.
Following this 11-point win, the Thunder will play at least two more summer league games. OKC’s next contest will be against the Washington Wizards on Friday, July 14.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.