BOX SCORES

vs BROOKLYN NETS (L 100-95)

30 MINS | 12 PTS (6/13 FG, 0/3 FG) | 14 REB | 1 STL | 4 TO | 3 PF

at MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (W 102-101 OT)

43 MINS | 21 PTS (7/11 FG, 7/12 FG) | 9 REB | 1 BLK | 4 PF

vs CHARLOTTE HORNETS (L 116-103)

29 MINS | 11 PTS (5/6 FG, 1/2 FT) | 10 REB | 2 AST | 1 BLK | 3 PF

at INDIANA PACERS (W 100-95)

35 MINS | 23 PTS (11/16 FG, 0/1 3PT, 1-1 FT) | 13 REB | 1 AST | 1 BLK | 2 TO

NEXT WEEK

at PHILADELPHIA 76ers, 1.00pm on Saturday (NZT)

at NEW YORK KNICKS, 1.30pm on Sunday (NZT)

vs DENVER NUGGETS, 2.00pm on Tuesday (NZT)

vs UTAH JAZZ, 2.00pm on Thursday (NZT)

vs BROOKLYN NETS (L 100-95)

One thing you surely can’t say about this Thunder seasons is that it’s been dull. Up against Sean Marks’ Nets they took this one on the road to Mexico City; fiesta time, amigos! Perhaps not for the Thunder though as they lost their three game win streak in unhappy fashion.

Sean Marks will be loving the progression that Kenny Atkinson and his team are making this season, having evolved into a fairly competitive team. D’Angelo Russell is scoring almost 21 points a night with 5.7 assists and guys like Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, DeMarre Carroll and Spencer Dinwiddie are doing some work as well. And since Marksy Marks is never not dealing, right around the time they were headed for Mexico City he was working on the find stages of a trade for Jhalil Okafor and Nik Stauskas.

That meant that Trevor Booker, included in the trade, was unavailable to play OKC while Jeremy Lin is obviously out for the season and Russell was injured here as well. Meanwhile a calf injury for Paul George meant that he was out of the lineup for OKC, who were also without Jerami Grant. Add in the tricky altitude in Mexico City and this was a curious game between two teams short of their ideal statuses.

Things started so well for the Okies. Steven Adams was getting a few buckets, Russell Westbrook was all over the place and Carmelo Anthony hit a sweet three pointer as they jumped out to a double digit lead in the first quarter. Andre Roberson even made a free throw! Chuck some Patty Patterson threes in there and that lead got up to 15 points early in the second.

We then got a brief intermission from the Steven Adams Is A Monster Show of recent games. Mr Funaki came back and coughed up a foul, turned the ball over a couple times and missed a free throw. OKC went into the half up 58-49 and Steve caught the yips in the third, missing three straight shots before finally putting one in from a Russ feed. With Hollis-Jefferson making some plays for Brooky, suddenly the lead was all the way down to a single point. Then the Nets went out in front. a few jump shots and seven quick points from Ray Felton made it 79-74 after 3Q… and then the Thunder just bottled it.

Outscored 26-16 in the last frame, they went on to lose by five. The one thing Steve was still dominating at was his rebounding, reeling them in at both ends, but he also had four turnovers and shot at under 50% for only the fourth time this season. Melo hit from 19 feet to make it 94-91, down by three, but then the Thunder went three minutes without a point until Russ made a layup with 13 seconds left and the game already gone. Whoops. Steve made one at the buzzer for kicks on the third attempt (good for the rebound stats).

You might guess that certain players had ugly stat lines. Russ had 31p/8r/6r but needed 27 shots for them while Melo… yeah, he shot 5/20 for 11 points. Caris LeVert had 21 off the bench for the Nets while RHJ got 17 and Allen Crabbe 15p & 6r.

Thunderous Intentions Player Grades: STEVEN ADAMS (B-)

“Steven Adams started the game off strong, hitting his first four shots of the game. In the second half, when the offense completely broke down, so did Adams’ play. Instead of feeding him off the pick & roll the Thunder opted to give him the ball in post-up isolation plays – that’s not the Big Kiwi’s game. In a normal close game Adams’ nine offensive rebounds would be the difference between an OKC win or loss, but as we’ve said, this was not a regular game.”

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at MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (W 102-101 OT)

The Grizzlies have not had a fun season. They very quickly succumbed to injuries and a lack of depth and that very quickly saw coach David Fizdale controversially sacked after benching Marc Gasol. Next thing they were sliding very uncomfortably towards the bottom of the Western Conference, entering this game with a 1-12 record in their last 13 games and propped up only by the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings. So… naturally they were 20 points up against the Thunder in this one.

Of course the Thunder had lost eight road games in a row and Paul George was missing with injury and Russell Westbrook may have gotten a triple double but he shot 7/29 and 1/12 from deep while Carmelo Anthony shot 7/20 himself and somehow they still came back and won. Riddle that one out.

Welcome to Loud City: “How about this - Adams, in the month of December, is averaging nearly a 20-10 on 72% shooting. But let’s keep on posting Melo up on the block and see what happens.”

Actually, it’s not that complicated. Not only did the Thunder have Alex Abrines making his second start of the season and hitting six triples but they also have the mighty Kiwi Steve, who continued his magnificent run of games with 21 points on 7/11 FG. He also attempted a career-high 12 free throws, making seven of them. Missed one late on which Melo tipped in as well, so you may as well give him an assist for that.

Down 48-28 in the second, Memphis very predictably couldn’t keep it up and OKC spent the rest of the game digging their way out of that hole. They restricted the Grizz to just nine points in the third quarter and looked like they were headed for the win when Melo made that tip for a 91-88 lead. Instead both teams missed late free throws and we were off to overtime, in which Westbrook, for just a brief but necessary moment, regathered his MVP form and took the Thunder to an exhausting victory by sinking two clutch free throws. Hey how about Steve with five straight double figure scoring games too!?

Daily Thunder: “While the Thunder watched Westbrook and Melo struggle from the field, Alex Abrines and Steven Adams turned in outstanding performances on a combined 14/21 shooting night. Both men logged 43 minutes of action and played pivotal roles in the Thunder comeback. Adams finished with a final stat line of 21 points and 9 rebounds on 7/11 shooting and 7/12 from the free throw line. He was a perfect 4/4 in a second half that saw the Thunder mount its comeback, and is now averaging 19.8 points on 70 percent shooting in the month of December.”

More Loud City: “Again, Steven Adams - 21 points on 7-11 shooting with 6 ORBs. How he is not a focal point for nearly every offensive set at this point is beyond me. He’s the only Thunder guy who is currently performing consistently better than average. Everyone else is hovering in a C- range at best.”

Melo had 21 points, Russ had 20p/11r/14a. Abrines also scored 20, with Andre Roberson the only starter kept shy of 20 points… he had 2. On the other side it was Tyreke Evans who dominated with 29 points shooting 13/24, also adding 13 rebounds and 5 assists in a huge performance. Marc Gasol had 22p/6r/6a and then nobody else really helped them. Ben McLemore had 17 off the bench.

Thunderous Intentions Player Grades: STEVEN ADAMS (A-)

“The big kiwi is arguably OKC’s most consistent player. His physicality down low and offensive rebounding is becoming a key feature to the Thunder’s success. Teams are now fouling him at an alarming rate as they deal with his strength down low. Grizzlies center Marc Gasol torched Adams early on, making 4 of his first 5 shots. Adams was able to respond, holding Gasol to 4 of his next 12. Adams finished with 21 points (7-11 from the field, 7-12 free throws) and 9 rebounds in 43 minutes.”

vs CHARLOTTE HORNETS (L 116-103)

The Thunder had just snapped a bad losing streak on the road, the Hornets were still right in the middle of one. Plus they’d lost seven of their past eight. Paul George was back in the line-up. It all sounds to simple right?

The first half went back and forth. Sweet as, that’s basketball. But it was the third that defined this one and that’s all we really need to talk about. OKC have their issues scoring late in games but they’re one of the best defensive teams in the league. How, then, they manage to leak 40 points in one quarter to the bloody Charlotte Hornets is anyone’s guess. Charlotte shot 53% from the field all game.

Russell Westbrook had a dunk for the ages to tie the game at 66-all. Flying through the air, all power and speed and determination… a classic Westbrook moment. A classic Westbrook moment that was followed by a Marvin Williams triple, and then another one, and then a foul on a three point Marvin attempt by Abrines, threes for Treveon Graham and Frank Kaminsky… end of the quarter and Charlotte led 92-74, a run of 26-8 across almost six minutes. There just wasn’t any coming back from that and Dwight Howard added nine points in the 4Q to kill it off.

Probably a good time to mention that Andre Roberson, their best defender, was out for the Thunder and it turns out he makes a difference. There were multiple three/four point plays from what Westbrook called ‘bonehead’ fouls.

Every Hornets starter scored at least 14 points, with Dwight Howard leading the way with his 23 points and 7 rebounds. Not really what we wanna see when the opposite centre is dominating. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist shot 7/8 for his 17 points as well. 30 points for Westbrook (10/22 FG) and 20 for PG on return.

Thunderous Intentions Player Grades: STEVEN ADAMS (C+)

“A matchup with Dwight Howard is never easy even if the big man is far past his better years. That was the task at hand tonight for Steven Adams. He did a solid job, collecting another double-double but was in foul trouble during a stretch. He also wasn’t as solid on the defensive end as we are used to seeing. Hopefully he can bounce back with a better game in Indiana.”

at INDIANA PACERS (W 100-95)

This one carried some heat. For all the dramas about how OKC are settling in with their big three, it’s worth remembering that Paul George was once the face of the Indiana Pacers and he didn’t exactly leave under peaceful circumstances. PG was booed at every opportunity here. But there was also the reunions with the dudes the Thunder traded to get him. Domantas Sabonis and, especially, Victor Oladipo have surged to new heights since leaving the Thunder, sparking more than a couple ponderings league-wide about why that might be.

Oladipo certainly didn’t bring his Player of the Week game to play against his old mates. The dude only scored seven in the first half, missing shots all night and getting blocked twice by Carmelo in the second and once, emphatically, by Steven in the third. But he wasn’t the only one struggling. Melo hit a three to open the scoring and proceeded to miss his next five shots. Westbrook was a madman with the rebounds and assists but he only scored two points in the entire first half. To be fair to him, he wasn’t really shooting but not what you expect to see from him all the same. And Paul George must’ve been letting the crowd get to him because he was a non-factor as well in the offence.

So you know what they needed? A heroic effort from Steven Adams. Mates, all you had to do was ask – Adams was all over the show with those offensive boards leading to physical put-back points. He had five off boards in the first half on his way to 15 points (7/9 shooting) – comfortably the leading scorer after two quarters for OKC and out in front of Darren Collison’s 12 for Indy as well. the highlight was this slick as oil fall-back shot, with the foul, right as the shot clock expired. That’s how they do it on the streets of Rotorua, bro.

From five points down after one they were five points up at the half, outscoring IND 29-19 in the second quarter. Adams was so into it he even heat checked himself with a heave on the buzzer from the opposite free throw line… which wasn’t close. Those weight sessions paying off too much there.  

No worries. He then came out and continued to play like a champ, adding eight points in the third and playing eleven minutes in the frame.

Adams wasn’t the only one balling. Patrick Patterson hit a couple threes to pad that lead and Abrines, starting in place of the still-injured Roberson, sunk four triples of his own to continue his shooting form. There were some ugly moments in the fourth, don’t doubt it. Russ seemed to want to flip the switch on his own scoring which naturally led to the opposite (conspiracy theorists will say he was a bucket shy of a TD). But they forced Indy into some tough shots and made enough of their own to stay out in front.

Victor Oladipo had a little surge at the end to close it to 96-94 amidst some frustrating possessions at the other end seeing Anthony and Westbrook missing shots while it was Josh Heustis who rebounded tough and then took a charge to salvage the lead into the final minute. Or at least it looked like a charge but they overturned the call during a timeout, only for Thad Young to miss a FT. Alex Abrines tipped in a sloppy one after he’d missed on the drive, then Paul George made some free throws after a steal in the midcourt. Phew.

Pacers head coach Nate McMillan called Adams a “monster on the boards” and Westbrook said he was a “big part of their success”. Both of those things were objectively true in this game as Adams spent five minutes on the bench and then seven minutes setting screens and blocking out in the fourth quarter, going without a field goal attempt in the fourth so that his three stars could throw up bricks. Paul George didn’t even attempt a shot in the fourth and from the moment Adams returned to the game to the final whistle, Russ and Melo were a combined 1/10 from the field. With a dude who scored 23 in three quarters alongside. Like Paul Pierce said on the telly coverage afterwards: “what would they do without Steven Adams?”

Bleacher Report: “On the bright side, the Thunder were able to enjoy another fine outing from center Steven Adams. A force below the free-throw line Wednesday night, Adams bullied the Pacers' less burly front line to the tune of 23 points and 13 rebounds, acting as OKC's offensive catalyst… And while four of Indiana's starters finished in double figures, center Myles Turner (nine points) was silenced in a game that was dictated in large part by Adams' two-way brilliance.”

Steven Adams shot 11/16 for the game, the OK3 were a combined 10/45. His 23 points made him the first player from outside that main trio to top-score in a game. Shout out to Alex Abrines for his 14 points as well, he also outscored each of the three. Oladipo scored 19 points shooting 9/26. Bojan Bogdanovic added 15 as well with three triples.

SLAM DUNKS

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