Shocked Draymond Green makes his feelings clear as OKC wins 12th straight game without Chet Holmgren

The Chet Holmgren-less OKC Thunder overcame a 12-point third-quarter deficit to dispatch the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-105 at home on Tuesday. The victory extended OKC's league-best winning streak to 12 games, seemingly astonishing Golden State Warriors veteran star forward Draymond Green.

After trailing 65-53 with 8:30 remaining in the third quarter, the Thunder turned the tables on the Timberwolves. They closed the quarter on a 36-10 run, taking an 89-75 advantage heading into the final 12 minutes.

Minnesota later fought back to within three points late in the fourth quarter. However, OKC prevailed, spearheaded by superstar guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The two-time All-Star tallied a game-high 40 points on 65.2% shooting, hitting a late-game 3-pointer to extend his squad's lead to 109-103 with 1:48 left.

With Tuesday's win, the Thunder improved to 27-5, 5.0 games ahead of the Western Conference's No. 2-seeded Memphis Grizzlies (23-11). They are also just 1.5 games behind the league-leading Cleveland Cavaliers (29-4).

OKC's entire 12-game winning streak has come in Holmgren's absence. The standout sophomore suffered a right iliac hip fracture on Nov. 10 against Green's Warriors and has been out since.

Amid the Thunder's latest comeback victory, Green took to X/Twitter and reacted in apparent disbelief about the upstart squad's dominance sans Holmgren.

"Chet out …," Green wrote, followed by three exploding head emojis.

Through 32 outings, OKC is 8-2 with Chet Holmgren and 19-3 with him sidelined, a testament to the team's improved frontcourt depth.

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Chet Holmgren seemingly takes recovery step amid Thunder's 12th straight win

While Chet Holmgren remains sidelined, he is seemingly steadily progressing in his recovery. During Tuesday's contest, he was spotted walking without crutches for the first time since his hip injury.

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault also said Thursday that Holmgren is "right where he should be right now." However, Daigneault added that the 2022 No. 2 draft pick's recovery process is "testing his patience," as "he really is not doing very much physically yet."

Thus, it appears the West's No. 1 seed is still a ways away from the return of its starting center.

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