INDIANAPOLIS — Chet Holmgren sat on the bench with a little more than seven minutes remaining in a tight game, checking on the state of his left ankle. He had endured a rough stretch minutes earlier. At the end of one possession, Jalen Williams landed on it, and Holmgren hobbled up the court. Then Aaron Nesmith leveled Holmgren with a shot to the right shin that sent him to the floor.
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When the possession finally ended and a whistle stopped the game, Holmgren put his hands on his knees for a long breath before going to the sideline. It had been a difficult series at times for Holmgren, and on this night, he had taken a physical pounding.
This was what the Indiana Pacers asked the Oklahoma City Thunder to withstand all night and all series long. The Pacers had taken several of the Thunder’s best runs and their rabid defensive pressure and inverted it. In Game 4, the Thunder were pushed to the brink but recovered. While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s heroics will make for an enduring memory, it was Holmgren who took a beating and kept going. His tenacity helped propel the Thunder to a 111-104 victory to tie the NBA Finals at 2-2.
But he wasn’t alone in keeping the Thunder’s title hopes afloat and avoiding a 3-1 hole in the series. The game was a redemptive effort for both of the other young members of Oklahoma City’s big three after they had rough starts to the finals.
Holmgren, the 23-year-old dual-threat center, had 14 points and 15 rebounds, and the Thunder outscored Indiana by 14 with him on the floor. Jalen Williams, the 24-year-old All-NBA forward, had 27 points and helped Oklahoma City weather early storms from the Pacers as it metered Gilgeous-Alexander’s minutes throughout the night. Williams buoyed the Thunder early, and both helped finish off the Pacers late.
“They want to be great,” Alex Caruso said. “Chet’s had games in the playoffs where I think he hasn’t played up to his potential in his eyes, and he comes out and answers. And I don’t think (Williams) played his best game last game. I don’t think he would say that either. I kind of just expected him to come out and answer the call; and he did it early, started getting downhill, made a couple shots. But even more than that, being good on the defensive end, coming up with rebounds late that we needed.”
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Holmgren struggled when the series began. He was on the floor for just 24 minutes in Game 1, when he had six points and six rebounds. His shot has escaped him so far — he’s made just 1-of-12 3s against the Pacers — but he has found a way to stand out. Over the last two games, he has gotten to the free-throw line more often, with nine free throws in Game 4, to get around those woes.
He came up big in the fourth quarter as the Thunder won that stanza for the first time this series. His impact was sometimes easily identifiable and at other times, a little more subtle.
His putback dunk with 8:37 left bailed out a failed possession and brought the Thunder within one after they started the fourth quarter down seven. That one was clear.
But Holmgren’s defense helped starve out the Pacers’ offense late as it sputtered. Holmgren found himself switched onto Tyrese Haliburton on the perimeter several times late in the game and was able to keep the Pacers star in front of him. Those defensive possessions were vital. Indiana scored just 17 points in the fourth.
It was an example of what made Holmgren so attractive to the Thunder coming out of Gonzaga when they took him second overall in the 2022 draft, and so good so far in his NBA career. Head coach Mark Daigneault is sometimes reticent to pull him away from the basket because Holmgren is such a strong rim protector, but the Thunder needed him to stay strong on switches in Game 4, and he did.
“He’s got great feet, and we just found ourselves behind the ball in a lot of places tonight, and the switching was able to get that under control late, but we can’t do that unless he can do that,” Daigneault said. “And he was outstanding tonight.”
Williams took over early in the night as the Thunder sought an offensive boost. Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t find his flow and start pressing his opportunities until the game’s final minutes as the Pacers set their defense around him.
That put the offense in Williams’ hands. That had been a shaky proposition over the first two finals games. Williams missed 19 of 30 shots in Oklahoma City. But his shot took off when the series moved to Indianapolis.
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The Pacers snuffed out the 3-point line for the Thunder in Game 4, so Williams responded with a slew of midrange jumpers and shots in the lane and made all 11 of his free throws.
It began almost immediately. Gilgeous-Alexander scored just four points in the quarter and went to the bench earlier than usual as Daigneault tried to keep him rested for the game’s critical stages. Williams scored 12 points in that quarter and got to the line with ease. The Thunder needed it.
His voice was just as big during the game as the Thunder worked to maintain their cool in a vibrant Gainbridge Fieldhouse that seemed to swell with every Pacers run. Daigneault pointed to Williams as a key resource in that, as he kept control in the huddles.
“He was special tonight,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “He’s been really good the last couple nights. It’s impressive to see his growth and his ability at such a young age on this stage. But yeah, that’s what makes us a good team. … It’s more than just me. Way more than just me. He can carry the load, he can be the second fiddle, he can just play defense, he can guard your five. There’s so many things he can do on a basketball court. I think that’s why he’s having the year he’s having. He makes life easier, not only for myself but for the rest of the group.”
The performances were reassurances for the Thunder. Gilgeous-Alexander has been brilliant, even as the Pacers have tried nearly every strategy to stop him. In Game 4, they tried to turn him off as a facilitator; he had no assists. His brilliance truly started to shine in the game’s late stages, as he scored 15 of the Thunder’s last 16 points.
That put the onus on Oklahoma City’s other stalwarts to come through alongside him to get the Thunder there. They were the ones who combined to score 10 of Oklahoma City’s first 15 points in the fourth. Holmgren and Williams responded in the biggest moment of their careers.
“These guys, to be able to do it without a lot of experience and without being in that moment before … down 2-1 on the road, down 10 at one point, just answering, throwing punches, throwing punches like that, that can’t get overlooked,” Caruso said. “And that’s an impressive feat.”
(Photo of Chet Holmgren: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
