In four regular-season games against the Spurs, Chet Holmgren made only 38.7 percent of his shots. He scored just 42 combined points. In the Thunder’s December loss to the Spurs during the NBA Cup, he fared slightly better, with 17 points and seven rebounds — but it still wasn’t as good as Wembanyama’s 22 points and nine rebounds (in only 21 minutes).
In this Western Conference finals series, the matchup wasn’t close. Eight points, 13 points, 14 points, 10 points, 16 points, 10 points and, in Game 7, four points. Nearly all of them were forgettable. They don’t tell the entire story — the game is more than putting the ball in the basket — and the Thunder’s willingness to sacrifice self for team is part of what got them one win away from another trip to the NBA Finals.
New York Times
