The Thunder pulled off an impressive 116-104 victory over the San Antonio Spurs to open up the season. The two Western Conference powers that met in last year's Western Conference Finals came into this game with a lot of hype, specifically around the growing rivalry between Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren, but Holmgren got the final laugh on opening night.
Holmgren finished the game with 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 blocks, while Victor Wembanyama had 12 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 6 blocks, but only shot 1 of 13 from the field and had 4 turnovers. Following the game, Holmgren spoke about the team's defense limiting Wembanyama.
“I think we did a great job of keying in on what the coaches gave us and going out there and not only making it tough on him, but tough on everybody else as a team,” Holmgren said in post-game comments obtained by Clemente Almanza.
Almanza also obtained a clip of Holmgren talking about how it felt to face the San Antonio Spurs.
“I feel like there's a balance between letting the game tell you what to do and telling the game what to do.”
Article Continues BelowThe win comes after Holmgren downplayed the rivalry talk between him and Wembanyama.
“You can't get so wrapped up in just that, that you forget the process and the steps that it takes to work towards the goal we're trying to work towards,” Holmgren told Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix about facing Wembanyama. “They're a very talented young team. There's no denying that. And I'd say, I mean, we're a very talented young team too, and that leads to some very fiery, competitive basketball games.”