Chet Holmgren played 22 minutes Wednesday and helped Oklahoma City roll past the Lakers in a blowout win, finishing with 15 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. He went 6-of-10 from the field, made his lone three-pointer and hit 2-of-3 free throws.
The night also showed how carefully Oklahoma City is handling its rotation. Isaiah Hartenstein was limited to 10 minutes, while Cason Wallace stepped in to start the third quarter and added five points, three assists and three steals.
That kind of restraint matters now because the Thunder are protecting key players as the regular season winds down. With April games still ahead, the way Holmgren and the rest of the rotation were used against Los Angeles points to availability being managed as closely as the score.
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The only question left is how often Oklahoma City can keep threading that needle without changing the rhythm of a lineup that is already producing results. For Holmgren, Wednesday was the kind of efficient all-around night that gives the Thunder room to keep doing exactly that.
