Chet Holmgren went back at the defender who had made his last playoff appearance so difficult. Early in Tuesday’s season opener, he drove past a smaller matchup and finished over Victor Wembanyama. Later, when De’Aaron Fox sent him to the floor, Oklahoma City’s response came from teammates rushing to his side and from the run that followed.
The Oklahoma City Thunder beat San Antonio 116-104 at Frost Bank Center, opening the new season with a road win over the team that eliminated them in the Western Conference finals. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points, while Jared McCain supplied 20 and made six of eight three-point attempts, the Associated Press reported.
Holmgren finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, serving as Wembanyama’s primary defender. The Spurs star had 12 points but made only one of 13 field-goal attempts. That contrast mattered more than whether Holmgren could match the scoring output of Oklahoma City’s leading guard.
Gilgeous-Alexander said, “The box score doesn’t show everything he does out there. He changes everything for us.” His comments to ESPN framed Holmgren’s contribution as something broader than a points total: aggression, confidence and the ability to affect possessions at both ends.
“I’m going to get up and keep hooping, but I appreciate my teammates having my back,” Holmgren said. The support was visible, but it also carried a cost in technical fouls. The sequence should not be confused with an announced suspension or further disciplinary ruling.
The Thunder’s official account shared Holmgren’s postgame interview:
The most consequential answer came with the ball back in play. AP reported that Oklahoma City scored nine straight after the confrontation and later produced a 13-0 burst, building a 59-33 lead. The Thunder won the second quarter 31-16 and reached halftime ahead 65-44. The scuffle supplied the night’s most replayable moment; the scoring around it supplied a much more tangible advantage.
San Antonio did respond, beginning the second half with a 23-9 run to cut the deficit to single digits. Gilgeous-Alexander and McCain combined for 25 second-half points as Oklahoma City held off the comeback. An early 26-point lead therefore did not make the rest of the game automatic.
For the San Antonio Spurs, Wembanyama’s offensive difficulties lasted until his alley-oop finish at the third-quarter buzzer. He had missed his first 12 shots. Rookie Aday Mara blocked one attempted alley-oop, a reminder that the defensive result did not belong to Holmgren alone.
That matters when assessing the matchup. Holmgren took the principal assignment, but assigning every miss to one defender would erase the help, the other rim protection and Wembanyama’s own shooting performance. The evidence supports a strong defensive night for Oklahoma City, not a claim that one possession or player explains all of it.
Eastern Herald’s review of Holmgren’s previous season had ended with the unresolved meaning of his Game 7 performance. ESPN reported that he finished that elimination loss with four points and four rebounds. Tuesday supplied a different performance against the same opponent, without changing what happened in May.
The result also turns the page on the preseason comparison between the Thunder and Spurs. Those ratings were forecasts. This was one competitive game, won through scoring support for Gilgeous-Alexander and defensive resistance around Holmgren. It gives Oklahoma City an opening-night answer, not a verdict on a potential playoff rematch.
