Chet Holmgren’s gutsy response to OKC’s losing streak in a win against the Jazz

Oklahoma. and home – Chet Holmgren kept his promise, and Oklahoma City Thunder it really was needed in a 129-125 overtime win against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday. The Thunder avoided a third straight loss by coming back in a hard-fought win against the Jazz. After blowing a 20-point lead, Holmgren helped the Thunder erase an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to push Oklahoma City ahead in overtime.

Holmgren promised to play better after back-to-back losses to the Thunder on Monday, and he didn’t disappoint, making critical plays that kept the Jazz on the ropes. Jaylen Williams found Holmgren in the lane to pull the Thunder back, on the verge of erasing the Jazz’s eight-point lead to one. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sent the game into overtime.

Then Holmgren cleaned the glass, grabbing five of his dozen rebounds, including two offensive rebounds and a dunk that gave the Thunder a two-point lead (124-122) with 29.7 seconds left. Holmgren had 23 points and three blocks.

“Obviously, it’s a stressful game, but just keep giving everything you have left in the tank,” Holmgren said. “It wasn’t pretty for most of the game. I definitely don’t think things went great at times, but at the end of the day, sometimes you have to win ugly.”

Holmgren provided the effort the 7-footer and the rest of the Thunder lacked as the offense grew stale amid the Charlotte Hornets’ impressive shooting. Still, Oklahoma City responded by putting together a string of defensive stops that yielded high-percentage looks from Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren and the Thunder, despite coughing up a 20-point lead.

Holmgren says the Thunder’s day off helped him and his teammates regroup mentally and physically as the defending champions snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 31-7.

Chet Holmgren vows to look ‘in the mirror’ after Thunder loss

During his postgame media availability, Thunder forward Chet Holmgren held himself accountable for his poor performance in the Monday’s 124-97 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. Against the Hornets, he finished with 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting, six rebounds and two assists. However, for Holmgren, his struggles extended beyond the box as the Thunder needed significant reinforcements on both ends of the floor, to no avail.

Holmgren he didn’t hold back when talking about his performance in the Thunder’s 27-point loss to the Hornets.

“I personally could have been better. I should have been better on the glass, I should have been on the rim; I should have given us a better spark,” Holmgren said. “The last thing I want to look at is the shots, whether they go in or not, I feel like, for the most part, tonight we had the right intentions with the shots we took.”

Allowing the Hornets to settle on offense, Holmgren and the Thunder made the necessary adjustments against the Jazz by consistently applying defensive pressure, especially in the fourth quarter and overtime.

“We let them get comfortable. They played with a lot of pace. They played with a lot of power in their actions, and we just didn’t match that,” Holmgren added. “You can look at whatever factors you want to look at why we didn’t, but at the end of the day, we just have to get better at it.”

“And execute in those areas, because it’s hard to win a game when you’re just playing behind the eight most of the night. And again, I’m always going to look in the mirror first and say, I’ve got to get better for us. And I’m going to do that.”

Without Isaiah Hartenstein or Jaylin Williams, Holmgren takes on more on the defensive end of the floor, but continues to be a constant thorn in the offense as a lob threat above the rim or rebound. It’s also worth noting that Holmgren is getting to the line more often, averaging 4.8 free throw attempts over the last four games while shooting 60% from the floor.