Chet Holmgren after Game 3 loss to Pacers: 'A lot of areas we can clean up'
Chet Holmgren after Game 3 loss to Pacers: 'A lot of areas we can clean up'
Backpedaling beyond the perimeter, Chet Holmgren received Jalen Williams' drive-and-kick. As he wound up to take an outside attempt, Myles Turner closed out fast enough to block the look. That exemplified how everything went for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the final moments.
Holmgren finished with 20 points on 6-of-15 shooting, 10 rebounds and two assists. He shot 0-of-6 from 3 and went 8-of-9 on free throws. He also had one steal.
The Thunder fell apart late in a 116-107 Game 3 loss to the Indiana Pacers. They're back to trailing in the 2025 NBA Finals in a 2-1 series hole.
Everything looked promising at the start. Holmgren was featured often. He swished in a mid-range jumper that forced the Pacers to call the first timeout. It was one of the seven-footer's best scoring stretches in the playoffs. He had 13 points after the first quarter.
Then Holmgren faded into the background. He only had seven points the rest of the way. The outside shot never fell for him. Meanwhile, Indiana was a buzzsaw on the other end with an active night inside the paint. Everything that could've gone wrong for OKC did.
"I think I was playing aggressive. I kinda got more to two feet when I got in the painted area. The plays that didn't go my way, I felt like I got a little sped up at times. I got a little bit out of control in the paint, which is again another one of the areas I need to clean up and be better for the next game," Holmgren said. "I think there's more than just that. I got to watch the film and improve."
They almost got away with it, but the Thunder looked out of sorts for even-numbered quarters. You can't expect yourself to win an NBA Finals game with such high ups and downs. Holmgren was the perfect example of that type of erratic flow.
"There's a lot of areas we can clean up. Myself personally, everybody down the roster that got in tonight, can look in the mirror and see where they can be better," Holmgren said. "Everybody who stepped out there could be better. Starts with me. I got to be better."
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