Getty Chet Holmgren
Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren made sure he brought his A-game against Stephen Curry. But the Golden State Warriors superstar ruined Holmgren’s career night with his game-winning layup in their 141-139 victory Friday night.
Holmgren’s career-high 24 points ended in a loss. But he didn’t go home empty-handed as he earned a jersey swap with Curry.
“First time playing against him in the NBA, obviously touched on it earlier but great players over there, and he’s one of them,” Holmgren told reporters of Curry after the game. “Definitely got to know where he is at all times. It’s a cool first full-circle moment, I guess you could call it, you know, going to his camp however many years ago it was and now being in the league with him and playing and competing.”
“That’s what it’s all about — I want to go out there and compete with these dudes, and they want to do the same. It’s great. They’re up 1-0 on us, and we’ve just got to continue to get better for when we see them down the line.”
Curry said it was fun to see Holmgren’s growth from his camp and the rookie big’s return from injury. The 7-foot-1 prodigy shot 7-of-9 from the field, including 2-for-2 from downtown. He stuffed the stats sheet with eight rebounds, five assists, one steal and a block in a complete game that impressed Curry.
“Obviously, offensively he’s ridiculously talented,” Curry told reporters of Holmgren. “He’s a tough cover for bigs. He’s a tough cover for guards if you switch just because you can get from A to B pretty quick.”
Even Draymond Green, one of the best defenders in the league, called Holmgren a “problem.”
“[Holmgren’s] got good finishing. He’s got the length. You have to respect him at all three levels,” Curry added.
And the best part or the scary part of it?
“He’s just getting started,” Curry said.
Stephen Curry Relieved to See Refs Made the Right Call
Curry heaved a sigh of relief after the game officials ultimately made his basket count and ended up as the game-winner in the tightly fought game.
Curry’s high-banking layup with 0.2 seconds left was initially nullified after Draymond Green got assessed with a basket interference. The long review, Curry said, gave doubts that his shot was good.
“It was hard for me to see the jumbotron and see the replays,” Curry told reporters after opening the NBA In-Season Tournament with a tough win. “I didn’t see it in live because when I laid it up, I fell on the baseline, then I saw the ball go in. I saw Draymond [Green] was up there and I couldn’t tell if he touched the ball or not or getting grabbed the net or not.”
“And I think they called it no good at first … And that’s where, I guess doubt crept in because I couldn’t tell what camera angles we have. But thankfully, [the referees] got it right. Because if I’m not mistaken, [Green] grazed the rim and didn’t touch the ball. Good basket.”
Refs’ Official Ruling on Curry’s Controversial Game-Winner
Crew chief Mitchell Ervin explained in the NBA Official Pool report why they ruled in favor of the Warriors.
“It was clear and conclusive evidence that Draymond does not touch the ball. Although Draymond does touch the rim, he does not touch the ball, nor does him touching the rim cause the ball to take an unnatural bounce therefore a basketball violation does not occur on the play,” Ervin explained.
Curry finished with 30 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the high-scoring game against a Thunder team missing their top star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with a knee injury.