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Hot Takes from Thunder's Chet Holmgren vs. Rockets' Jabari Smith Summer League Game
July 10, 2022
The first head-to-head meeting between Chet Holmgren and Jabari Smith Jr. was an underwhelming affair for both rookies, but Smith did get the final laugh thanks to the Houston Rockets' 90-88 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Summer League play.
Houston closed the game on a 7-2 run in the final 74 seconds to steal the victory.
Smith nearly posted a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds, but he made just five of 19 field-goal attempts. The Rockets forward also had three blocks and four steals in 31 minutes.
With the Rockets clinging to an 87-86 lead with less than 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Smith did an excellent job of using his toughness on defense to get a steal.
Itamar @Itamar_17_10Wasnt the prettiest game, but it was Hella competitive and the Rockets came out on top.<br><br>Jabari Smith struggled shooting but he had 4 Steals and 3 blocks, a monster defensively. Nix was nice with 16 and 6, Eason had 14/11/2/2/1. Christopher had 19 and 5, Washington did his thing
At some point, the Rockets need Smith to start making buckets consistently if he's going to turn into a franchise player. For now, though, his ability to change the game on the glass and with hustle plays on defense is more than enough to make Houston fans excited.
Holmgren did show off the versatility of his skill set on a night when his shot wasn't falling. He finished with 12 points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field. The 20-year-old made up for those issues by adding seven rebounds, three steals and four blocks.
The connection between Holmgren and Josh Giddey was on display in the first half.
Perhaps the most encouraging part of this game was the myriad ways Holmgren made his presence felt without having a dominant scoring day.
Some of Holmgren's woes in this game were due to the inability of his teammates to convert on open opportunities that he set them up for.
There were some individual head-to-head moments between Holmgren and Smith that provided some fireworks.
Despite most of the attention being on Holmgren and Smith, there were opportunities throughout the game for other players to shine.
Daishen Nix scored 16 points (6-of-9 field goals) with six assists in the win for Houston. Tari Eason had a double-double with 14 points and 11 assists in 28 minutes.
Josh Giddey had an inefficient 14 points (6-of-15 field goals), but he had a game-high eight assists. Jalen Williams contributed 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field for the Thunder.
The Rockets and Thunder are both off on Sunday before returning to action on Monday. Houston will play the San Antonio Spurs at 7 p.m. ET. Holmgren and the Thunder will take on No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic at 9 p.m. ET.