Isaiah Hartenstein’s return to action came at a good time for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
With star center Chet Holmgren out with a fractured pelvis, Hartenstein is a pivotal player for the Thunder. Hartenstein will look to follow a strong season debut when Oklahoma City visits the Sacramento Kings on Monday night.
Hartenstein missed the Thunder’s first 15 games due to a broken left hand.
But he excelled Wednesday against the Portland Trail Blazers when he had 13 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots in 29 minutes off the bench during his team’s 109-99 victory.
“He’s still a little bit rusty out there,” Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said of Hartenstein. “But he changed the game for sure. He’s an anchor. He sees everything, lets you know early and loud. And it’s great to have that behind you. It allows you to adhere to the ball, be aggressive, and be decisive defensively. Yeah, he was special.”
Hartenstein was scooped up as a free agent in the offseason with a stunning three-year, $87 million contract offer. The big money came after he started a career-best 49 games with the New York Knicks last season. He averaged 7.8 points and a career-best 8.3 rebounds.
He was signed to be a supporting frontcourt player, but his role will grow with Holmgren out approximately two more months after being injured against the Golden State Warriors on Nov. 10.
Jalen Williams, who has been playing in the interior with Holmgren and Hartenstein out, also had a strong first impression of his new teammate. He said Hartenstein was putting in the work while waiting for the hand to heal.
“I think just coming in there day in and day out, knowing you have to condition and work on your game without your dominant hand, is tough,” Williams said. “He made the most of it, and now he’s coming back.
“I didn’t really see the ramp-up, obviously. We’ve been on the road or gone when he got the cast off. I assume he was working just as hard when he got the cast off.”
Monday’s game will be the first of a stretch in which the Thunder play 10 of 12 games on the road.
Sacramento, meanwhile, has dropped a season-worst three straight games after falling 108-103 to the visiting Brooklyn Nets on Sunday night.
The Kings allowed 19 3-pointers — 13 in the first half — and committed 16 turnovers leading to 24 Brooklyn points.
“To give up 13 made 3s the way we did in the first half is tough to live with,” Sacramento coach Mike Brown said. “On top of that, we turned the ball over. We had 16 turnovers for 24 points. Somehow, someway, we have to do a better job of taking care of the basketball.”
De’Aaron Fox scored 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field and has topped 30 points in three of the past five games. He is averaging 39.4 points during the stretch, including a franchise-record 60 against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 15.
But during the fourth quarter against the Nets, Fox took just three shots (missing each) and scored only one point. Sacramento was outscored 20-15 in the period and was 6 of 23 from the field and missed all seven 3-point attempts.
DeMar DeRozan (18 points) was 3 of 8 in the quarter, and Domantas Sabonis (13 points, 18 rebounds) was 1 of 6.
“These guys have a lot of freedom out there to do what they want out there …,” Brown said of DeRozan and Sabonis. “I would not say those guys were in his way. But we would rather see Foxy stay aggressive, too.”
The teams split four matchups last season.
