Adams thunders to the double
AP OKLAHOMA City Thunder were floundering, and needed someone to spur them through the middle stages of an important late-season home NBA game against the Miami Heat. No problem, answered Steven Adams.
The Thunder’s 24-year-old New Zealand centre did a fine job of doing the heavy lifting for the bulk of his side’s clash against the Heat at Chesapeake Energy Arena yesterday, and then happily passed the torch to his superstar point guard Russell Westbrook to apply the finishing touches in a vital 105-99 victory.
Adams came to play superbly for the Thunder as they bounced back from Wednesday’s gutwrenching 100-99 defeat at the undermanned Boston Celtics that snapped a six-game win streak. He finished with a big-time double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds, making nine of his 13 shots, six of 11 free-throws and snaffling a half-dozen misses off the offensive glass.
The big Kiwi combined brilliantly with Westbrook off the high pick and roll throughout, with a dunk with 42 seconds remaining probably his most important bucket as it put the Thunder out by four (99-95) as the visitors did a good job of keeping it close late.
A steal and length-of-court three-point play by Paul George off the next possession sealed the deal as OKC edged out by 102-95.
Adams was a consistent contributor for the Thunder as they struggled to find their spark for much of the contest. He had seven points (on two-of-two shooting) in the first quarter as OKC led 24-18, and added four more in the second as his side took a 44-40 lead into the halftime break.
The Kiwi chimed in with nine third-quarter points for the Thunder as Miami nudged in front 66-64 at the final break, and then added a further seven over the fourth stanza as OKC finally got its offence flowing with 41 points in the term.
‘‘He’s so strong and so athletic and creates so much attention,’’ said Westbrook afterwards of his combination with Adams. ‘‘My job is to make sure I find him.’’
Westbrook certainly did that as he finished with a game-high 28 points (9/15 FG, 2/2 3PT), 13 rebounds and eight assists. He scored 17 of his points in the final quarter to drive the Thunder to an important victory in its playoff push.
OKC improve to 44-30 and remain fourth in the tight Western Conference standings, just one win ahead of the hard-chasing New Orleans Pelicans.
George added 12 points for the Thunder (as well as five boards and four assists) but was just three of 16 from the floor on a cold shooting night. Chunky point guard Ray Felton was the other key contributor with 10 points off the bench.
The Heat, now 39-34 and clinging to seventh in the East, were paced by 23 points from James Johnson and 20 from Goran Dragic, with Justise Winslow and Wayne Ellington adding 14 apiece.
The Thunder, with eight games remaining, host the Portland Trail Blazers next up tomorrow as they continue with the toughest finishing schedule in the NBA.