Summer League: Thunder Squeak Past Pacers Behind Holmgren’s 25 Points, 5 Blocks

In what was an up and down game, the Thunder found just enough offense to brave several runs by the Pacers.

In what was an up and down game, the Thunder found just enough offense to brave several runs by the Pacers.

The Oklahoma City Thunder squared off with the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night for their third game in the Las Vegas Summer League session.

As both teams struggled to find consistency, it was the Thunder who would come out on top after stellar performances from Chet Holmgren, Ousmane Dieng, and Jared Butler would provide just enough heavy lifting to overcome the Pacers’ defense, 98-87.

Defense was certainly the name of the game in the first frame as the Thunder were able to hold the Pacers to just a 13-point first quarter. While Indiana did record three steals to the Thunder’s zero, they still allowed Oklahoma City to score 20 points.

After a shaky game in his last outing, Cason Wallace seemed to get back on the right track, knocking down two mid-range shots and finding three assists to buoy the offense before taking a seat around the three-minute mark.

And Ousmane Dieng continued to show off his newfound confidence, slithering around the court with his long strides and using his length to finish at the rim. Around the five-minute mark, he had a beautiful drive where he easily stepped around the defense for the easy layup.

Chet Holmgren again showed he could impact the game as a shot blocker as he absolutely smothered a transition layup attempt by Pacers rookie Ben Sheppard, pinning it to the backboard. Two possessions later, Holmgren erased a drive by Robert Woodard to finish out the first quarter.

The second frame was all about offense as the two teams combined to score 56 points.

Holmgren kicked things off with a nice post-move inside before soaring in the air to throw down a perfectly executed lob pass from Jared Butler to score four of the Thunder’s first six points. Minutes later, the Thunder would find themselves with a 12-point advantage as Butler and Dieng combined for three 3-pointers to make it 35-23.

The Pacers weren’t going easy though as undrafted free agent Isaiah Wong, out to make a name for himself, hit three 3-pointers to help cut the Thunder’s lead to just eight late in the quarter, 36-44. Indiana’s prized rookie Jarace Walker would add another 3-pointer, however, both Keyontae Johnson and Dieng would combine for a quick six points to end the half and put the Thunder up 50-39.

Butler continued to find ways to score as the Thunder’s defense locked in at the beginning of the third quarter to push their advantage to 16 points. But the Pacers’ offense started to show some urgency behind a ferocious dunk by Wong that ignited a run to cut the Thunder’s lead to just ten, 58-48.

The Thunder would respond with a 3-pointer by Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and a mid-range fade-away from Johnson would extend the lead back out to 15 but the Pacers would once again claw back, this time with a 9-0 run to make it 63-57 before a jumper by Johnson would stop the bleeding.

Back to back buckets and a technical free throw by Holmgren, and a floater by Butler would provide a spark for the Thunder’s offense to close the quarter, 63-72.

Holmgren opened up the fourth frame with a block and deflection to thwart the Pacers first possession before finding an easy bucket underneath on the other end to get things going offensively.

And again, an aggressive drive by Butler provided a tough-finish layup. Afterwards, as the Pacers tried to in-bound the ball, Butler grabbed the pass and found another easy layup to bring him to 18 points on the night and give the Thunder a 78-66 lead with eight minutes to go.

With the Thunder trying to slam the door shut on a scrappy Pacers squad, things started to get a little sloppy as both teams committed multiple turnovers, fouls, and mishandled the ball. But Dieng would calm things down, hitting a smooth off-the-dribble 3-pointer, slashing to the rim for an uncontested layup, and feeding Holmgren in the post to help bring the win home for the Thunder.

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