After Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren was listed as questionable for Monday's game against the Dallas Mavericks, he was upgraded to available. The starting big man will be in action for the Thunder's final stop on their three-game road trip before returning home to the Paycom Center for the first time since Opening Night.
Holmgren, dealing with lingering lower back soreness, has been cleared to play, as the Thunder announced on Monday afternoon. Holmgren suffered a dislocated thumb against the Hawks. He exited the game during the second quarter but returned for the second half. Chet finished with 31 points on 8-of-12 attempts, including six threes, which ties his career-high. He also finished with 11 rebounds, three steals, and one block.
The shorthanded Thunder, playing without All-Star Jalen Williams, Isaiah Joe, Alex Caruso, Kenrich Williams, and others, will look to go a perfect 4-0 as defending champions when they take on Anthony Davis, the No. 1 overall pick, Cooper Flagg, and the Mavericks on Monday.
Chet Holmgren reveals dislocated thumb after Thunder win
Thunder forward Chet Holmgren tried to contest a dunk from Hawks forward Mouhamed Gueye and dislocated his thumb in the process in Saturday's 17-point win. Holmgren jammed his thumb against the backboard while Gueye flushed the ball through the hoop. The Thunder big man headed toward the locker room but returned to the floor after halftime.
After the game, Holmgren revealed he had dislocated his thumb during his postgame media availability.
“We all know what happened — I got dunked on, dislocated my thumb at the same time,” Holmgren revealed. “It didn't look too bad. Obviously, my thumb wasn't where it was supposed to be. I see my thumb every day. It didn't look like it normally does. But, it also didn't look completely done for. So, I tried to tell them to just pop it back into place during the timeout because I was scared. I didn't know what to do. But they said I had to go get X-rays — that's why I went to the back.”
Holmgren is averaging 24.7 points on 56.1% shooting, including 42.1% from deep, 10.0 rebounds, and 1.7 steals through three games.
