Big Kiwi centre puts on block party
Steven Adams put on a block party as he returned from injury to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Clippers 121-113 yesterday.
Adams had five blocks, three steals, 18 points and 14 rebounds in a huge defensive performance from the Kiwi centre on his return from a hip injury that kept him out of their last game. It was his 23rd double-double.
Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists for his 22th triple-double of the season and the 101st of his career. Corey Brewer scored 22 points and Paul George had 19 points for the Thunder, who swept all three
Agames from the Clippers this season. George played through a pelvic strain and Adams had a left hip contusion. Oklahoma City, one of several teams in the race for the No 3 seed
in the Western Conference playoffs, won their fifth straight and clinched a winning season. It was the start of a difficult closing stretch against mostly teams in playoff contention.
Tobias Harris scored 24 points and Austin Rivers added 23 for the Clippers.
Brewer and Adams carried the load in the first half, scoring 14 points each to help the Thunder take a 63-56 lead.
Terrance Ferguson got a threepointer to rattle in early in the fourth quarter to give the Thunder a 94-87 lead. He later caught a pass in midair around his waist, and then kicked his legs out and hesitated before making a reverse layup to bump the lead to 96-88.
Westbrook clinched the tripledouble on a rebound in the fourth quarter. His mid-range jumper gave the Thunder a 116-107 lead and forced a Clippers timeout, and Oklahoma City maintained control from there.