OKLAHOMA CITY — With three fouls, Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault called upon Chet Holmgren to check back into the game with 8:16 left in the first half. While most coaches would have waited until it was closer to halftime, Daigneault reinserted his starting forward to finish the second quarter. Outside of All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s game-high 40 points, it was a decision that stood out in the Thunder’s 127-103 win against the Denver Nuggets.
It also paid off. Holmgren scored nine of his 14 points in the first half. After Sunday’s win, he addressed Daigneault’s philosophy.
“His philosophy is exactly what mine would be if I was a coach, too. You don’t get to take the fouls home,” Holmgren said. “And a lot of times, you’ll sit somebody, and then they’ll end the game with two fouls, and you missed the opportunity to be playing them. If he has me out there, I gotta to go play. He trusts me to make the right play. I still picked up a couple of fouls in situations I shouldn’t have, but that’s the way the game goes.
“I’m just trying to make plays, be aggressive. Coach put [his] trust in me to be out there. So, I still need to do what the team needs me to do,” Holmgren concluded.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault stuck with his starting forward with only one foul to spare. Chet Holmgren helped his team put the finishing touches on a 24-point victory. He also finished with eight rebounds and four blocks as the Thunder scored a season-high 41 fourth-quarter points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s humble on MVP battle in Thunder’s win
Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drew first blood versus fellow candidate and defending MVP in Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. On the front end of their back-to-back at the Paycom Center, Gilgeous-Alexander led his team with 41 points on 15-of-32 shooting, including 2-of-11 from deep, and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. He also finished with eight rebounds, five assists, and three blocks.
After the win, Gilgeous-Alexander addressed the hype surrounding his MVP race against Jokic.
“It’s something to talk about,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s entertainment — that’s part of the sport. It’s an honor to be in the conversation itself. It’s been really fun. Most of the appreciation comes from my teammates. No matter how good of a player I am, if we don’t check the win column as much as we do, the conversation wouldn’t be a conversation.”
Jokic finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists.
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