Chet Holmgren's Bounce Back Frame Embodies OKC Thunder Win

Things did not go Oklahoma City's way offensively on Wednesday. The OKC Thunder labored their way to 113 points in their 113-105 win over Minnesota. In this contest, the two sides saw five lead changes and seven ties before the Thunder gutted out their tenth straight win to start the season 18-1. The league's best record and longest winning streak.

However, it was in doubt. For a team with the best net rating in NBA history to start this season, they have spent more times blowing out their opponents than sweating out contests and these Timberwolves took the Thunder to the brink.

Minnesota made ten more triples than the Thunder did on Wednesday, 17-7, with the Timberwolves making 45.9% of their 3s and the Thunder converting at a lowly 26.9% clip. Despite winning the points in the paint battle 52-28, Oklahoma City struggled at the rim shooting just 63% at the cup.

It was only Superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who had it going on the offensive end to the tune of 40 points, six rebounds, six assists and swiping three steals on the defensive end. Gilgeous-Alexander went for 63% from the floor, 1-for-2 from beyond the arc and 15-for-17 at the free throw line.

Oklahoma City's night was littered with inconsistent offense outside of their superstar, but as the reigning MVP kept trusting his teammates they eventually came through for him.

Look no further than Chet Holmgren, who bounced back in the fourth quarter and embodied this game for the OKC Thunder.

In the first half, Holmgren had just two points, going 1-for-5 from the floor. He went 0-for-2 in the third frame. It was the fourth quarter where the Gonzaga product came alive.

In that fourth quarter, the Rising Star big man turned in 10 points, four rebounds, an assist, 2-for-3 from 3 and 3-for-5 from the floor to couple with four rebounds and an assist. He was critical down the stretch of this game with a late assist to Lu Dort, a rebound off a missed Rudy Gobert Free Throw that sent Holmgren to the charity stripe to bury two big ones and a corner 3 to answer the call after an Anthony Edwards triple.

Holmgren didn't shy away from the moment despite his messy box score throughout the night and it paid off for Oklahoma City.

“I just feel like never be afraid of failure. If you miss a shot, you miss a shot. But you’re not gonna never shoot a shot again in your career. You’re gonna have to shoot a shot again at some point, so why not now?" Holmgren explained after the game.

As the Gonzaga product bounced back, so did the team, pulling off their 18th win and keeping Oklahoma City unbeaten in NBA Cup Pool Play.