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4 hours ago
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The Oklahoma City Thunder are looking to bounce back from a stunning 111-110 loss to the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
The Pacers were able to steal a win on the road after Tyrese Haliburton's epic buzzer-beater to seal the win.
Following the game, NBA legend and analyst Channing Frye weighed in on the game, criticizing the Thunder's performance, explicitly pointing out that Chet Holmgren.
"I felt like each series, or each game, they’re going to put a player under duress, and certain players are going to step up, and certain players are going to get exposed," said Frye when talking about Holmgren’s performance.
"And tonight, it was Chet. I'm not saying it’s going to happen every game, but tonight, to get a win, they went at Chet to get a double team."
He added: "Everyone else was doing solid, and he just didn’t do enough today to sustain what they needed and keep the Pacers from going on a run."
Chet Holmgren struggled to get it going during Game 1, finishing with six points on 2-for-9 shooting while grabbing six rebounds and a block in 29 minutes of play.
He has been instrumental for the Thunder throughout the regular season, averaging 15.0 points and 8.0 rebounds, thanks to his elite two-way play. However, he has been very inconsistent during the postseason.
Despite his poor showing during Game 1, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault has remained confident in Holmgren heading into Game 2
"Usually delivering in the Finals is not on the curriculum for third-year players, and they have thrust themselves into that situation, which is a credit to them," Daigneault said via ESPN. "Now that they are here, they have to continue to do what they have done all the way through the playoffs, which is go out there, fully compete, learn the lessons and apply it forward.
He added,"And they have done a great job of that. I think you've seen that over the course of the playoffs. They haven't always played their best game, but they always get themselves ready to play the next one."
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