BOX SCORES

at NEW ORLEANS PELICANS (L 114-107):

26 MINS | 15 PTS (7/9 FG, 1/2 FT) | 3 REB | 1 AST | 1 BLK | 3 TO | 4 PF

vs GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (W 108-91):

37 MINS | 14 PTS (4/8 FG, 6/8 FT) | 12 REB | 2 STL | 3 TO | 2 PF

NEXT WEEK

vs DETROIT PISTONS, Saturday 2.00pm (NZT)

at DALLAS MAVERICKS, Sunday 2.30pm (NZT)

at ORLANDO MAGIC, Thursday 1.00pm (NZT)

at NEW ORLEANS PELICANS (L 114-107)

The pattern is clear as day in Thunder games by this stage. We’re not even a quarter into the season yet so there’s plenty of time for things to turn around, however right now it seems like Oklahoma City come out, move the ball around and play great basketball in the first quarter, hold it down in the second, and then turn to trash in the third and fourth, generally at the expense of a double-digit lead. It’s happened so many times already.

Such was the case in New Orleans against Boogie and The Brow. OKC caught on like a house on fire, scoring the first 8 points of the game. Stevie turned one over toe Boogie on the first possession but three pointers were landing (OKC started 5/5 from deep) and even after an Adams shooting foul put Davis on the line for NOP’s first points, the Thunder continued to thrive. Adams threw one down, George hit a long one… it was 17-2 barely four minutes in and when Alex Abrines dropped a treble they were suddenly up 19 points already, midway through the first.

The task for Steve was always gonna be tricky here, up against Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins. Since Boogie can hit a mean three pointer he drags a guy like Adams out of the paint, creating room for Anthony Davis, who also does the same thing for Boogie in reverse. Both can dominate down low and both eat rebounds for breakfast. Between them they average 52.2 points and 24.2 rebounds per game and with the variety of what they can do… yeah, good luck. The Pelicans don’t have a lot of depth behind those two but that’s not Steven Adams’ problem.

Keep in mind that OKC’s previous game had seem them torched by LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol in defeat to the San Antonio Spurs.

Carmelo Anthony: “They’re a load,” Anthony said, shaking his head. “For myself, Steven, it’s going to be a team effort game on the defensive end. They’re a team who just goes and those two guys, they get it going and they’re tough to stop. We have to a great job defensively as a team to stop those guys. We’ll be looking forward to that.”

Right so interestingly a second personal foul meant that Adams was subbed out during that run, Jerami Grant entering the fray at 15-2. Meanwhile Boogie did not rest, grabbing all of his 6p/6r/4a in the first quarter in the eight mins he played without Steven Adams in there. Now if he’d stayed in and gotten in further foul trouble then that wouldn’t have helped but… there you go. New Orleans closed it up to 33-24 at the end of the first.

Then by the time Adams came back in (7:17 left in the second), the Thunder were actually losing. That lead went as fast as it arrived. Then immediately they go on a 7-0 run, Adams scores five more points, and the Thunder took a 65-57 lead into HT.

Say, how’s this for a pass?

DeMarcus Cousins got ejected in the third. Not the most shocking news but a rather helpful development all the same. Dropped an elbow into Russ going for a rebound. Tony Allen said he flopped, Boogie said he was just doing what he’s been coached to do. It was a little harsh, to be fair, but it’s Boogie after all. Dude’s got a reputation.

At the moment he was ejected though, the Thunder were up 76-72. If losing Cousins was gonna open the door for OKC – Cousins who already had 18p/9r/4a in the middle of the third – then somebody still had to account for Anthony Davis. The Brow ended with 36 points and 15 rebounds, while Jrue Holliday chipped in with points as well, 18 of them. Once again the Thunder let things slip in the second half.

NO shot at 51.2% in the third & fourth while OKC shot 33.3%. The Pelicans scored 58 points in the paint as well, hey and this in a game that Steven Adams only played 26 minutes of? Hmm, maybe not a coincidence. But yeah, nah, Adams had 15 points but just 3 rebounds. Russ got a triple double but it was a bad one, shooting 6/19 for his 22p/16r/12a… okay then, 16 rebounds while the centre gets three, haha. George had 26 points, Melo had 19. Russ and Melo, as is another one of this team’s patterns, were a combined 3/18 in the second half from the field.

Steven Adams is second in the league in field goal percentage? You can take three fourth quarter shots, no more son. Adams can’t create his own shot like Russ or Melo (or George, though he’s got a tendency to get edged out in clutch time too, frustratingly). He can finish other dude’s work though, especially when defences are stretched out towards the big three… granted they might kinda prefer them shooting at this point.

Still, the message stands. The Thunder have now lost six games in which they’ve held a double-digit lead and Steven Adams has taken a total of five field goal attempts in the last five minute of games within five points this season, making three of them. In the same situations, Westbrook is 10/22, Anthony is 4/14 and George is 3/11. Needless to say that Andre Roberson has only taken one such shot. We’ll see how this thing evolves though, there’s a lot of juggling to be done and a bit of pressure is starting to fall on Billy Donovan.

Thunderous Intentions Player Grades: STEVEN ADAMS - A

“Adams continues to be the Thunder’s most consistent player every single night. Early foul trouble stunted his night but he continues to dominate opponents inside. OKC need to use him more if they are going to win games. Oklahoma City needs more than 3 rebounds out the Big Kiwi, but that is the result of pounding with two elite bigs down low. He finished with 15 points (7-9 FG, 1-2 FT) and 3 rebounds in 26 minutes.”

Hey while we’re at it, chief, why not take a peek over at our Patreon and maybe sign up for the good stuff, getting that Niche Cache Revolution up and funded.

vs GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (W 108-91)

And what was next? Just the small task of the Golden State Warriors. A team that carries plenty of beef amongst OKC fans but also a team the Thunder had lost to seven times in a row. Kevin Durant came into this game in some injury doubt but was always likely to play and sure enough the Dubs were able to chuck out their regular starters here.

Good on ya, Steve. KD and Klay Thompson then drained threes to remind the home crowd what they were up against but a few Paul George buckets got the Thunder up on top. And Melo went and added to it.

Curiously Steven Adams was the first starter subbed out here, not even lasting five minutes on the court. He’d missed three of his four shots and bricked a couple free throws so he wasn’t playing all that well but it still seemed a little odd. At least until the plan became evident, as Billy Donovan taking Adams out earlier allowed him to put Steve back in with Russ and the bench later on in the quarter, ensuring the Thunder kept up a threat at both ends in those latter stages of the quarter when they’ve more often than not given up points. It’s a smart plan, at least in theory. Especially since that Russ/Steve pick and roll is gonna hassle basically any bench defender in the NBA.

33-26 after one, Steve Kerr fairly attributed the Warriors’ start to their turnovers. GSW had six of them in the first and you don’t wanna be giving the reigning MVP room to run in transition. When Melo and PG are hitting shots too, well… the OK3 had 27 of those first 33 points (plus 4 to Steve, 2 to Jerami Grant).

The assumption is always that the Warriors will come back. They usually do. Plus with the Thunder’s recent history of blowing big leads, it didn’t seem to matter that they managed to push it out to 13 points, to 15 points, to 17 points. Yet despite that, Russ kept on playing like a whirlwind. He was insane, chucking down dunks and whipping up the crowd. Dude was locked in, alrighty. There must have been some positive vibrations buzzing around too because after missing those first two, Steven Adams then made all six of his remaining free throws. And kept on rebounding, putting those three in the previous game in the rear window.  

They say the way to beat the Warriors is to get them in the third. When they blitz you coming out of the HT sheds then you’ve got no show. When you keep it close or stay in front going into the final frame then you’ve got yourself a winnable game. Paul George’s pull-up on the buzzer made it 65-48 at the big break… and then Russell Westbrook came out and scored 13 points in the third. Then things got chippy…

Maaaate, just lucky Kiwi Steve was there to keep things from escalating. Then when the dust settled the realisation came that OKC were gonna win this one. Steve Kerr pulled his starters with eight minutes left. Billy Donovan, understandably shaken from the ones that got away, left his dudes in for a lot longer. He didn’t really need to.

Westbrook ended up sitting one assist shy of a triple-double, though that doesn’t at all take away from one of his best performances all season. He had 34 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 steals, absolutely taking this one by the scruff of the neck and almost doing the same to KD. Anthony had 22 points and George added 20p/11r (and some heroic defence, whoa tiger). Steve’s 14 points and 11 rebounds were handy too.

For the Dubs they got some good stuff out of Steph Curry for 24 points and Durant ended with 21 but Draymond Green had 4 on 1/6 shooting and Klay Thompson 9 on 3/12 shooting. The Warriors don’t often get kept to 41.3% shooting from the field. Turns out this is what the Thunder can be at their best, panic session is over.

Yeah... sorry bro. You may also notice Steph and KD having big-ass laughs on the bench in the background when they see Russell’s reaction. Oh and while we’re at it, here’s the one guy in the league who hates KD and the Warriors even more than Russell Westbrook:

Thunderous Intentions Player Grades: STEVEN ADAMS – A

“The unsung hero of tonight’s game. Adams is such a defensive force, so much so that there should be a petition to change the cliched phrase “Immovable Object” to “Steven Adams”. The Big Kiwi collected another double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, adding to a very strong season from the big-man.”

SLAM DUNKS

Daily Thunder: “OKC actually runs a lot of actions off the standard pick-and-roll setup and I find it fascinating to look at the nuance that goes into positioning and off-ball movement. To start, below is the most standard and understood PnR action you can have. Russell Westbrook and Steven Adams are experts at running this.  Russ has the ability to blow off the entire play and opt for a line drive to the rim, which forces the defense on its heels throughout the entire action. Meanwhile, Adams knows all of the nuances in Russ’ actions and always moves in step”

Fare thee well, golden horses… but first go and slap an ad, could ya? It’d help TNC keep on laying this stuff down and it’s not like it’ll cost you anything either.