Jan. 16, 2026, 12:01 p.m. CT
Keeping his eye on Amen Thompson, Chet Holmgren roamed the paint. Once he decided to drive to the basket, the seven-footer licked his chops. His help defense resulted in another empathic swat. The desperate layup was nowhere near the rim as the probable first-time All-Star volleyball-spiked it away for another block.
The Oklahoma City Thunder pulled away late in their 111-91 win over the Houston Rockets. A 27-6 run to start the fourth quarter turned this from a one-possession contest to a lopsided scoreboard.
Holmgren finished with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, nine rebounds and one assist. He shot 2-of-3 from 3 and went 2-of-3 on free throws. He also had four blocks and two steals.
Taking advantage of the Rockets’ hyperfixation on offensive rebounds, Holmgren had a busy night inside the paint. He scored 11 points in the first quarter on mostly textbook putbacks and a couple of running dunks. He ran the floor well to get plenty of easy looks in transition.
Playing with confidence, Holmgren beat Kevin Durant off the dribble in the fourth quarter. He soared through the paint to get the easy jam. Everything went well for the 23-year-old as Houston kept forgetting to put someone on the seven-footer for several possessions.
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On the other end of the floor, Holmgren continues to build up his Defensive Player of the Year case. At this point, it won’t take him long to catch up to the league block leaders. Since he’s played the center position, it’s a given for him to rack up multiple rejections.
The Thunder put this one away early in the fourth quarter. Holmgren helped with that as he manned the second unit’s defense. Eventually, this turned into a blowout — which was quite the surprising development considering how close the game was for the first three frames.
“It could’ve been a game down to the wire. Going into the fourth, it was two points. If you mess around with that game, you can end up down 10 going into that first timeout,” Holmgren said. “It was huge we came out and punched first in the fourth. Kinda didn’t slow down from there.”
This is some of Holmgren’s best basketball. The Thunder have seen their defense return to tip-top shape after some recent lulls. And even then, they’ve sat at the top of most defensive stats for the entire season. What you’re seeing from the 23-year-old might not light up the social media world, but it has resulted in OKC’s return to dominance.
“Just sticking with it. When you lose, everybody is acting like the ceiling is caving in and the sky is falling. ‘Sell the team!’ — I don’t think anybody is saying that. But that’s what it feels like. When you lose, everything is nitpicked. Everything is under a microscope,” Holmgren said. “You can’t lose sight of who you are and what you do. How to do those things when you’re going through those times. At times, you have to survive so you can thrive. It’s not like we’re in the clear and we’re past all that forever. It’s the NBA. Teams are good. Schedules are tough.”