DALLAS — They ran in lockstep, two 7-foot-1 string beans, tasked with uplifting respective MVP candidates in the second round of the playoffs during their first professional seasons. But when Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City’s starting center, pivoted into his defensive stance at the top of the key, he saw Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault motioning for Holmgren to wrangle his counterpart, Mavericks big Dereck Lively II, before Luka Donu010diu0107 or Kyrie Irving could initiate any formal offense.
So Holmgren reached with his interminable arms, scurrying along the baseline, while Lively’s curly hair flowed behind him like a roadrunner outracing a coyote — like two enormous children in the schoolyard, instead of on hardwood underneath the watchful eyes of 20,325 including a courtside Patrick Mahomes.