NEW ORLEANS — Chet Holmgren didn’t ask for a stat sheet when he spoke to the media after OKC’s 126-109 road win over New Orleans on Monday.
He likely would have struggled to see it through his Saint Laurent sunglasses, which had lenses tinted darker than his black leather jacket and pants. But even if he could, he had no interest in what the box score had to say.
He knew Lu Dort’s performance spoke for itself. And he didn’t need validation from numbers to praise his teammate, who racked up 17 points on 4-for-6 shooting from deep in 28 minutes.
“When we need him to hit,” Holmgren said, “there’s nobody better than big-game Lu Dort to swing the ball to and trust that he’s going to throw a moon ball up and hit nothing but net. We’ve seen it before. We’ve seen it in the biggest games in the playoffs, and we trust that’s going to be there when we need it. We saw a little sprinkle of that tonight.”
The problem with moon balls is they take a long time to drop, and Dort found himself waiting longer than usual this season.
The sturdy ball stopper became a true 3-and-D threat in 2023-24 when he shot 39.4% from deep on five attempts per game. He then followed that up last season by shooting a career-high 41.2% from distance on 5.8 attempts.
But Dort entered Monday shooting just 21.1% in that department on 4.8 tries. And despite his willingness to let those sky-scraping shots fly, they simply weren’t dropping.
That changed against New Orleans, which had to pick its poison when defending OKC. It opted to focus on the lethal Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was held to a season-low 23 points, only to get Dortured from distance.
All four of Dort’s made 3-pointers came in the first quarter, and they came on only five attempts. His hot shooting helped the Thunder torch the Pelicans for 49 first-quarter points, setting a franchise record for points scored in any quarter.
“Obviously, they were open shots, some of them,” Dort said. “To see a couple of them go in is only what I need. I was just aggressive. (My teammates) were finding me, and I made a couple early.”
Even those who didn’t watch Monday’s game could see Dort’s impact with a glance at the box score, but that isn’t always the case.
While numbers don’t lie, they don’t tell the full truth either. And OKC’s 109-96 win over Charlotte on Saturday was a prime example.
It marked Dort’s return after missing the previous five games due to a right upper trap strain. He finished with just three points and four rebounds on 1-for-4 shooting from the field (1 for 2 from deep) in 22 minutes.
But Dort posted a game-high plus-minus of 23, and he did plenty to make his presence known.
The 6-foot-4 guard played within the system offensively, swinging the ball until it found the open man. And, of course, he showed his defensive versatility by guarding everyone from 6-3 speedster Collin Sexton to 6-7 bully baller Miles Bridges.
“He was a monster in that last game,” Holmgren said. “He does a million things that don’t show up on the stat sheet. The actions he blows up. The physicality he plays with. The duress he puts opponents under. Box score watchers will never see it, but it’s invaluable to us.”
Dort knows the value of those plays. It’s approximately $68.9 million, which he will have earned throughout his career by the end of this year.
Three-pointers are welcomed, but those plays are what helped the former undrafted guard stick in the NBA. And he’ll see to it to keep making them, even if they go unnoticed by the casual fan.
“A lot,” Dort said when asked how much he prides himself in doing the little things. “Like I always say, that’s how I made my name in this league. That’s how I made my name on this team as well. It’s not always in the box score. I know I can impact the game in a lot of ways that people won’t really see.
“As long as my team sees it, it’s all good.”
Justin Martinez covers the Thunder and NBA for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Justin? He can be reached at jmartinez@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @Justintohoops. Sign up for the Thunder Sports Minute newsletter to access more NBA coverage. Support Justin’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.