BOX SCORES

at Denver Nuggets (L 102-94):

30 MINS | 9 PTS (4/10 FG, 1/2 FT) | 11 REB | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 1 PF

vs Los Angeles Clippers (W 120-111):

DNP – Injured

vs Dallas Mavericks (W 112-99):

DNP – Injured

vs Chicago Bulls (W 92-79):

DNP – Injured

at San Antonio Spurs (L 104-101):

35 MINS | 16 PTS (6/8 FG, 4/7 FT) | 7 REB | 2 BLK | 1 TO | 4 PF

NEXT WEEK

at New Orleans Pelicans, 2.00pm on Tuesday (NZT)

vs Golden State Warriors, 2.00pm on Thursday (NZT)

at Denver Nuggets (L 102-94)

We last checked in with Kiwi Steve on the back of a three-game losing streak and things only got worse in Denver… for a couple reasons. Bad enough that the team held a closed-door meeting afterwards. 

It started fine. Triples to Russ and Melo had the Thunder out of the gates quickly and pretty soon Kiwi Steve was throwing down buckets too on the way to a 21-10 lead. He did get blocked by Paul Millsap at the rim though, not something that happens to Steve all that much. He got blocked by Millsap again when he came back in the second quarter. Damn, son. Denver dragged that early deficit right back and tied things in the second. It was a back and forth thing from then on. 

Russ had taken a knock to the face which needed some treatment in the first quarter. He stayed in but it looked like it hurt. Then Steven Adams seemed to be limping later on in the contest. Denver are a tough team. Nikola Jokic doesn’t back down. Unfortunately Stevie copped it a little more than people first realised…

OKC shot 50% in the first quarter but this was a 75-all game going into the final frame. But that fourth quarter has been a worry for Oklahoma City all season and this was no different. In fact it might have been the culmination of all that. Emmanuel Mudiay went wild with 10 4Q points, hitting a three to put Denver up 85-82 with just under eight minutes left. The Thunder went back to their starters almost immediately after that.

Adams missed one from eight feet but Melo was able to hit a couple as they stayed in range for the comeback. Then Steve got hurt and had to leave. Russ hit a three to make it 93-90 but then an and-one play from Millsap cancelled that out and Denver controlled the rest of it. Westbrook was poor in this one and Paul George a non-factor – PG had just one shot (missed) in the fourth quarter!

Daily Thunder: “Billy Donovan went with a crunch time lineup of Westbrook-Felton-George-Melo-Grant. We now know Steven Adams was hobbled with a calf contusion, but still an interesting personnel decision in the game’s most important minutes. Roberson should have been at the two.”

Melo topped for OKC with 28 points (10/20 FG) while George and Westbrook both only scored 13. They were a combined 0/5 from the free throw line as well, while PG only shot 14 times all up. He didn’t even play bad, he had four steals, but the game just passed him by in the definitive stages. That reeeally shouldn’t happen to a multi-All Star like Paulie. Jokic had 15p & 111r while Paul Millsap scored 17 and Manny Mudiay added 21 off the bench.

Thunderous Intentions Players Grades: STEVEN ADAMS – N/A

“Steven Adams went down with what appeared to be an ankle injury in the 4th quarter. Up to that point he played solid defense and had a pretty okay offensive performance. Here’s hoping he is not seriously hurt, we love the Big Kiwi here at Thunderous Intentions.”

In losing this OKC dropped to 0-5 against Western Conference teams and 4-7 overall. They’d sort both of those things out in the coming days though, thankfully.

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vs Los Angeles Clippers (W 120-111)

After hitting borderline rock bottom of the OK3 Era in Denver, with remarkably stupid fourth quarter play and a completely absent Paul George down the stretch, things got a lot better with a run of easy games and crucial wins. It didn’t even matter anymore, not once Paul George remembered how incredibly good he really is and finally took over in a game for the Thunder. And Russell Westbrook played aggressive as always, while Melo chilled as the third man. The trio played as a trio, rather than taking turns at the isolation stuff. The wounded Clippers never stood a chance.

Although having trailed by as many as 20 points in the third, the Clippers did close it right back up in the final frame. An Austin Rivers triple from the corner with 5:37 remaining tied the thing up at 105-all… but then Melo and PG hit buckets and the Thunder closed on a 15-6 run to ice it. Paul George dropped a monster 42 points, he called it attack mode. It was awesome.

Buuuut there was no Kiwi Steve. A right calf contusion meant he sat this one out and G-League All Star Dakari Johnson started in his place, doing pretty well for 9 points in his 23 minutes (with only one rebound, shows what centres are up for in OKC). His impact, like Steve’s, was more on the defensive end as DeAndre Jordan was happily limited.

Daily Thunder: “The Thunder was very aggressive defending DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin. Jordan seemed poised for a big night with Steven Adams out, but he finished with 9 points and 12 rebounds. Credit to Dakari Johnson, Jerami Grant, and Andre Roberson for playing physical and keeping Jordan off the offensive glass”

Just 17 points on 5/19 shooting for Blake Griffin. Lou Williams his six trebles as he scored 35 off the bench but Paul George’s 42 came off just 22 shots (13/22 FG, 4/7 3PT) with 9 boards, 7 assists and 3 steals. Yowza. Russ added 22 points & 8 assists and Melo had 14. Snaps a four game losing streak… but Steve didn’t play so yeah.

vs Dallas Mavericks (W 112-99)

Then against the Mavs it was the same deal. No Steven Adams. Therefore no reason to get into the nitty gritty of the game in a weekly feature dedicated to the exploits of Aotearoa’s one current NBA basketballer.

There was no Carmelo Anthony either, who was a late scratch with a sore back. Only an hour before tip-off he was ruled out, leaving the Thunder shy a couple starters. But they were playing the Mavs so no dramas. The battling Mavericks kept it close at 44-42 to OKC at HT but then a 39 point third for OKC blew it wide open and the Thunder made their shots to win it from there.

Once again Paul George just lit it up. He dropped 37 points, 12/22 shooting, with 8 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals and 7 three-pointers. Enormous effort from him, even against a couple short-handed teams. He and Russ scored 32 of their 39 3Q points, Russ bagging 27p/6r/5a/3s for the game. Harrison Barnes was the best for Dallas, as per usual, with 22 points and 13 rebounds.

Paul George: “We've got to be ready for anything. When Steven went down, Dakari stepped up. Melo went down and it was a huge contribution from a bunch of guys. Josh stepped up, Jerami stepped up. We've got to be that team. We're fortunate to have two other guys who can take the load, but it's even better when we've got young guys who can step up and help the team.”

That wasn’t even PG’s best quote. This game came on Russell Westbrook’s birthday and when asked if he got him anything, George had a mic-drop reply as good as any you’ll hear in the regular season. Yeah boy, Paul George has got the juices flowing finally.

vs Chicago Bulls (W 92-79)

The Bulls are even worse than the Mavs right now and when OKC kept them to only 7 points in the first quarter, well… it was cruise control from that point on. Russ had 21p/7a/5r/4s in a busy game (going hard in the 2Q after a scoreless first) while Melo returned to score 18 points (11/12 from FT) and PG13 had 13 points, dropping back to earth a bit shooting only 4/15. Jerami Grant added 15 points off the bench and there’s not a lot else to say… other than where is Steven Adams?

He’d now missed three games against three poor teams, all at home too, so there’s probably been an element of taking it easy as far as not rushing him back goes. Dakari Johnson has done well filling in also, which has helped the Thunder take their time with whatever’s going on. A calf contusion doesn’t sound like something that’d keep you out for a month, you know.

The Oklahoman: “It's only been three games, but Johnson has filled in nicely in Adams' absence. His numbers aren't eye-popping (4.2 points, 1.7 rebounds, 17.4 minutes per game), but he's excelling at subtleties that may otherwise be botched by a young big man.”

Nick Gallo/NBA.com: “Center Steven Adams participated in the non-contact portions of Thunder practice on Thursday, although the team as a whole didn’t do very much contact work during the session. The team will know more about his availability for the game against the Spurs at shootaround on Friday morning.”

at San Antonio Spurs (L 104-101)

Which brings us to the Spurs. And, finally, there was good news. KIWI STEVE WAS BACK!

Happy days aboard the wagon and Adams wasn’t wasting any time in getting back aboard it either, swallowing an offensive board which he flipped back in for OKC’s first points of the night after Paul George had missed. He’d make a rare hoop from a little range soon after and then tipped in a Melo miss for more points.

All three of the big names were making shot in that first quarter and the Spurs couldn’t quite hang. The starters did their bit before the bench unexpectedly provided a flurry at the end of 1Q to push it out to 32-15 already. It helps when you can stagger Russ and PG with your bench, of course. OKC shot 11/22 in the first, SAS only 6/18 and worst of all was they had seven turnovers in the frame. Very un-Spurs-like, as they say.

Buckets to Patterson, Abrines and Felton took the difference up to 23 points early in the second, howzat!? Yeeeah... except this Thunder team hasn’t been the best at protecting big leads and with LaMarcus Aldridge rebounding missed shots like a champ that deficit slowly began to shrink. Add in the three pointers that were falling fair for Danny Green in particular and it was only 55-48 at the main break. Steve scored 8 points in the first quarter but didn’t have a shot attempt or a rebound in his 8:14 of court time in the second. Don’t you hate it when that happens?

He got more involved in the third but by then the flick had been switched and a Davis Bertans triple at the end of the quarter tied things up at 78-78. It was part of an 11-0 Spurs run that bridged the end of the 3Q and start of the 4Q which gave San Antonio control of this thing. Credit to Coach Popovich, apparently. He was in fine form in this one…

We got a bit of drama going later on when Steve caught Kyle Anderson in the face going up for a loose rebound on a missed Melo free throw (which he put back in for points). Poor Kyle went down in a heap of pain, probably regretting ever finding himself in the post against a seven-footer from Aotearoa like that. All accidental, no fouls, by the way.

Down by six with a little over three mins remaining, Adams had missed a pair of free throws. He’d been good from the line previously but here were a couple bricks. However Paul George was able to save the rebound and Melo worked an and-one – which led to the tip-in shot that copped Kyle Anderson. That was four quick points there to close it up but OKC couldn’t quite hit a clutch shot. Melo missed a couple from range and Russ coughed a two-pointer while Adams gave away two fouls at the other end with the Thunder trying to tighten things up.

The Thunder again regathered a missed free throw as Paul George got to the line and we had a 100-99 game in favour of San Antonio with 45 seconds left. LaMarcus Aldridge banked a two and after two more off. boards from missed threes that would’ve tied it, Melo hit a looong two with five secs left. His foot was only on the line by millimetres at best. But Pau Gasol made his FTs and Russ could only toss up a wildly off-balance and contested miss as the buzzer went.

Thunderous Intentions Players Grades: STEVEN ADAMS - A

“Welcome back, Big Kiwi. After missing the last three games due to a calf injury, Steven Adams made his triumphant return this evening. The OKC Thunder center made an immediate impact and showed everyone why he is so essential to this team. His defense and timely scoring around the rim was important tonight and has been impeccable all season long.”

20 points (9/17) for Melo, while George had 18 (5/16) with 7r/6a and Westbrook a terrible 15 points (5/22 shooting including 0/4 from deep), though he did add 9 rebounds and 9 asssists. Adams’ 16 points and 8 rebounds were an impressive enough return for him. LaMarcus Aldridge was the star of the show with 26 point on 14 shots with 5 of his 9 rebounds at the offensive end. Green added 17 points and Gasol had 14. The Spurs had seven turnovers in the first quarter and only six in the entire rest of the game, outscoring OKC 89-69 over the last three verses.

SLAM DUNKS

The smooth, reliable season shot chart of Steven Adams. Could throw a blanket over those buckets, mate.

Bleacher Report: Ranking Every Team's Best Lineup

Best Lineup: Russell Westbrook, Alex Abrines, Paul George, Jerami Grant, Steven Adams

Minutes Played: 30

Net Rating: 24.2

“These five are scoring only 99.6 points per 100 possessions, which would leave them tied with the Dallas Mavericks for No. 26 on the league-wide leaderboard. But they're also rather stingy, posting a 75.4 defensive rating that should terrify every opponent under the sun.

Russell Westbrook has been a pest at the point of attack, while Paul George has done yeomen's work against opposing wings. Meanwhile, Jerami Grant and Steven Adams have formed a potent interior duo that rarely allows an uncontested bucket around the rim. The power forward provides athletic contests from the weak side, while Adams drains energy away from his matchups with constant physicality.”

Daily Thunder Week in Review: “In the second example, Adams appears to drop into a zone. Zone is a solid strategy against a penetrating ball handler because it keeps everything in front and prevents not only the drive, but also the roll (though it leaves open an open jump shot off the screen). The problem here is that Adams doesn’t keep Lillard in front of him. Lillard blows by him, and Grant comes to help. This is almost OK, as Grant’s help defense is there to defend the layup, but Westbrook, in a particularly head-scratching moment, casually strolls to the paint, leaving McCollum wide-open again from deep.”

Thunderous Intentions: “There’s only so much the Big Kiwi can do on shifty point guards. Give them too much space and they can line up for an easy three. Guard them close and they can easily drive past him for an easy lay-up or a pass to an open man. That’s why Billy has to make a decision soon: either play Grant/Patterson over Adams in crunch-time or force his perimeter players to fight through screens so Adams isn’t left on an island. I tend to side with keep Adams on the floor. His rim protection and ability to clear space for rebounding is vital to the Thunder’s success in the first 43 minutes of the game.”

USA Today/For The Win: “New Zealand-based tattoo artist Steve Butcher can turn photos into life-like permanent pieces of art, and it’s truly incredible...”

Maaate, just smack an ad if you wanna help TNC further the revolution. Easy as Big Steve on the put-back lay-up from another Melo pull-up miss.