BOX SCORES

at DENVER NUGGETS (L 127-124):

32 MIN | 10 PTS (5/11 FG) | 8 REB | 1 AST | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 3 PF

vs NEW ORLEANS PELICANS (L 114-100):

37 MIN | 23 PTS (8/13 FG, 7/10 FT) | 12 REB | 2 BLK | 2 TO | 2 PF

vs LOS ANGELES LAKERS (L 108-104)

38 MIN | 12 PTS (5/8 FG, 2/2 FT) | 5 REB | 5 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 3 PF

at GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (W 125-105)

26 MIN | 14 PTS (7/9 FG, 0/3 FT) | 10 REB | 3 STL | 2 TO | 4 PF

NEXT WEEK

at LOS ANGELES LAKERS, Friday at 4.30pm (NZT)

vs MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES, Monday at 1.00pm (NZT)

vs CLEVELAND CAVALIERS, Wednesday at 2.00pm (NZT)

at MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES, Thursday at 2.00pm (NZT)

at DENVER NUGGETS

Sometimes all it takes is one top player to perform out of their skin to earn a valuable regular season win. Russell Westbrook has done it many times. LeBron James is famous for turning it on. Kobe Bryant before him. On this day it was Paul George who lit it up, playing absolutely remarkably for 43 points on 19/26 shooting, making five triples. The problem was that while George was insane, so were Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic on the other side and two beats one.

The Thunder were playing their fourth game in six days, their sixth away game in a different time zone (albeit with a decent home-stand in the middle of all that) and Denver is notorious for its altitude. So perhaps the Thunder can be spared for their awful start. But not really.

It began as it finished, with a Gary Harris triple. Steven Adams missed a few shots in this opening quarter. He had some chances and he had trouble working his way through a wall of bodies. A few putbacks went astray, although he did some damage off of Russell Westbrook’s generosity. Russ was missing shots for a large portion of this game but he made up for it with shiny dimes.

However it was Nikola Jokic that dominated the early stages. His ability as a passer was unstoppable. He’s big enough to muscle up with Steve but he can also hit a shooter on the edge with a perfect pass so Denver very quickly established themselves as a three point threat. Not to mention that Jokic has a jump shot, Jokic has some skill in the paint. He dragged Adams away from the rim and got him switched out on the guards, which allowed them to attack the hoop on the drive. Then Jamal Murray started taking over with a flurry of threes and… let’s just say that ankles were broken.

The Thunder were scoring points. Paul George, as mentioned, was playing great. But they couldn’t limit Denver who dropped 40 on them in the first quarter and were up 72-57 at half-time. Not much coming from their bench, perhaps, but four of the Nuggets starters had at least five field goals in the first half (sorry, Wilson Chandler) and Jamal Murray was an incendiary 7/11 shooting, 4/5 from 3pt zone for 18 points across those two first frames. Only Paul George’s 15 were doing much for OKC.

Oh but the Thunder had a comeback in them, yes boy did they have a comeback. Rusty Buckets came good with a flurry of shots. 4:28 left in the third and the Nuggets were up by 20 points. 2:09 left in the third and it was still a 19-point lead. But Russ did some things, PG13 did some things, Jerami Grant did some things… it was down to a 10pt difference when Adams returned to the game.

Being the kind of game this was, Adams had little to do on offence but set heavy screens and try crash the boards. They were chasing points and post-up offence doesn’t really work for that aim. Thus in seven and a half minutes in the fourth quarter he added a single defensive rebound to his stat line and that was it. Hey, something was working. Let’s fast-forward to the final few plays…

Boom, Paul George! Ah no wait but boom Gary Harris as well. That sucks. Hell of a game, though.

Paul George was immense for his 43 points (w/ 4r & 5a). He shot 19 of 26 and made five triples. Incredible from him. Westbrook added 20 points on 7/18 shooting and Grant scored 18 off the bench. Defence looks like a significant issue without Roberson though, Jamal Murray scored 33 points and Jokic had 29p/13r/14a. Harris added 25 points. Both Jamal and Gazza made five threes as well. Hmm.

Thunderous Intentions Player Grades: STEVEN ADAMS (B-)

“I’m convinced Nikola Jokic will always be Adams’ toughest matchup not named Joel Embiid. Jokic’s ability to stretch the floor and make plays with his passing game continues to take Adams out of his defensive comfort zone. The same goes for when he gets switched onto point guards. It’s time for Billy Donovan to make a change to the defensive scheme, aka force Russ to fight through those tedious screens. It just doesn’t help the team when Adams is mismatched out to the three-point line for a perfect opportunity to get replayed on social media for years to come.

So why a B-? The Big Kiwi used his size advantage on the offensive end somewhat, but he was more used as a screener to free up George and Westbrook. OKC scored 66 points in the paint in large part because of Adams’ dominance over Denver’s bigs.”

Maaate, don’t forget to smack an ad if you’re digging what The Niche Cache is doing. Independent kiwi sports media, baby. Doing it for the people who care.

vs NEW ORLEANS PELICANS

No time to rest, the Thunder were back at home the very next day after the Denver loss to take on the New Orleans Pelicans, a team without All Star DeMarcus Cousins… but still with a certain Anthony Davis in tow. A fourth game in six days for OKC and the Pelicans were out to make it tough for them by playing at pace, embracing their transition offence and getting the ball moving.

Three pointers to Jrue Holiday and E’Twuan Moore got the Pellies off to a hot start but Steven Adams turned up to play, regardless of the miles in the legs. After NOP had taken a 12-6 lead, he helped set the tone with some nice moves around the basket and a block on Davis that, with Melo and Westbrook also scoring, helped support a 21-4 run for the Thunder that had them up ten after the first quarter.

Then a flurry from Jerami Grant and Ray Felton for the second unit got the lead as high as 16 points. It didn’t go so well from there. Moore started sinking shots and closing that gap. All of a sudden we had a six point game, at least until Kiwi Steve went and scored five straight points. Even made a free throw, the legend!

For the rest of the second quarter, the Pelicans outscored OKC 20-13, down by only four at the break. Adams had limited Anthony Davis as much as he could, but that wasn’t well enough to stop him. Davis didn’t even had an offensive board but he got plenty of shots off, his vast offensive skill set giving Stevie a lot to deal with. Adams was physical with him, he did all the usual stuff… and he couldn’t stop The Brow.

Alvin Gentry, NOP Coach: “I thought [Davis] played great. I don't like the fact that he has to battle a guy like Steven Adams and play those 37 minutes. Those 37 minutes become like 50 when you have a guy like that defending you.”

And if Adams couldn’t do it then nobody could. The Thunder simply crumbled in the second quarter, they were exhausted and there was no maintaining the early pace. The hustle plays began to disappear and the Pelicans started to get what they wanted. Energy was sapped. Shots were missing. The Pelicans came out hot to establish a solid lead then Davis dropped 16 points in the fourth quarter to make sure they kept it.

43 points for Anthony Davis, as well as 10 rebounds. He shot 17 of 34 while his team were 51.1% from the field combined (and 13/24 from deep). E’Twuan Moore added 26 points. For OKC they got only middling contributions from each of their three top scorers, who combined for 17/54 shooting. Adams was 8/13 for his 23 points, adding seven offensive boards for a total of 12 rebounds as well. Big numbers from him… just not as big as his opposite big man.

Thunderous Intentions Player Grades: STEVEN ADAMS (B)

“Steven Adams played hard tonight. He recorded another double double, his 19th of the season, playing his typical, physical brand of basketball. He played physical effective defense on Anthony Davis in the half court, but gave up a significant amount of run outs and alley oop dunks in transition.

He actually held AD to 7-22 in the half court, and it is plausible to assume that if he had a little more help from his teammates in transition, I could be spending this time lauding him for his ability to limit an All-NBA First Team center. But alas, Anthony Davis went 12 for 12 inside of 6 feet and for 43 points on the night.

But he did keep AD, one of the league’s elite rebounders, from getting a single offensive rebound tonight and pulled down seven himself. Despite the transition struggles, tonight was still the kind of night Steven can hang his hard hat on.”

Also:

vs LOS ANGELES LAKERS

Sometimes you just play a bad game. The Thunder were not good against the Lakers, it didn’t even matter that they hadn’t lost a home game against LAL for 11 matches or that Lonzo Ball missed yet another game with his knee thing because right now they’ve forgotten how to defend.

Okay, that’s an exaggeration. OKC still has DPOY candidate Paul George and Steven Adams does plenty himself, as you well know. Did plenty here too with five steals – one shy of his career high (against Denver in 2014). Then again, he only had five rebounds. Only had a couple on the offensive end. And Brook Lopez went and dropped 20p/5a/5r on his watch so… yup. That was how this one went.

The writing was on the wall when Lopez hit a three pointer five and a half minutes into things to make it 12-4 to the Lakers. The Thunder brought it back to within three at the buzzer, a couple Adams dunks in there, however that three point shooting was an issue all game. The Lakers shot 13/30 from deep, 43.3%, with each of their starters getting in on the action while Lopez made four and Josh Clarkson made four. And when Lopez is setting up on the perimeter, he’s often dragging Adams away from the basket which creates room for other jokers. Which in turn severely limits Adams’ rebounding, by the way. Not that that excuses the unnatural dearth of boards at the other end.

On the other side, Paul George made three triples and he was the only OKC player with more than one. Still, the Thunder just have more talent than the Lakers. It didn’t help that with PG13 going up against his hometown team there were even more whispers about him playing for the Lakers next season but even an unfocused George is better than most players. And Westbrook was playing quite well himself, hence the Thunder were right in this thing for the middle two quarters.

If they’d been able to get a few more stops then they might’ve pulled away. Instead they let LAL shoot 55% from the field in the second half and when the shooting slump came for themselves in the fourth, they drifted. Down by 10 with 150 seconds left. A few desperate late buckets made it interesting but it wasn’t enough. OKC missed eight free throws, by the way. None were Adams. Make half of those and it’d have gone to overtime. The ending was weird too, as Adams and Melo pressured a frantic Julius Randle and somehow nobody died.

36 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists (and 7 turnovers) for Westbrook. Best on court for Oklahoma City, he was. George added 26p/7r and Melo stunk it up with 3/13 shooting for 10 points (but 13 rebounds, at least). 12p & 5r for Kiwi Steve. As for the Lakers, Lopez got his 20 points while Clarkson added 18 off the bench and every starter scored at least 13.

Thunderous Intentions Player Grades: STEVEN ADAMS (B-)

“Steven Adams had a pretty quiet day, which is usually fine because he compensates with solid rebounding and defense. He struggled to keep track of Brook Lopez in this one, who did an excellent job of stretching the floor. A solid second half buoyed his grade with some shot-making and his usual hustle. He also ended with five steals.”

at GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

Usually these things are reserved for Steven Adams quotes (or quotes about Steven Adams). There’s a wider focus on the Thunder, obviously, but the point is to celebrate Aotearoa’s finest sporting export (at least within the realms of basketball, don’t get snappy). But this from Russ sums up exactly what Oklahoma City was getting into against the Warriors. Russ hates the Warriors. But he plays at 100% every play without fail so it’s impossible for him to raise his intensity even for his most pained rival.

Last time they played the Warriors they came out and blitzed them from the start on the way to their best win of the season (that Cavs win seems less impressive with every subsequent Cleveland defeat). Similar things happened here, beginning with one of these suckers from Big Steve.

And then one of these. This, my friends, is what they call a big boy’s move.

Those were the last points Adams managed for a fair while but not because he went cold all of a sudden. Instead it was because Russell Westbrook turned it all the way up to eleven. He was so hot, he played the entire first quarter. All twelve minutes while shooting 9 of 11 for 21 points with 4 assists and 3 rebounds. Those are good numbers for an entire game, let alone a single quarter. And it helped that Klay Thompson was missing shots but the rest of the Dubs were playing fine… yet after the first they were down 42-30.

The signs weren’t great that OKC could sustain this pace. Carmelo Anthony took a knock (a sprained ankle) and was back in the locker room in the first quarter while Adams missed some time for a couple early fouls then came back in and copped another on early in the second. Didn’t see him again ‘til after half-time. One of those fouls was a tactical bear hug on Kevin Durant to stop him dashing away for an easy bucket, ever the selfless fellow ol’ Steve. (Also Klay flopped on #3).

Shout outs are in order for Paul George and Jerami Grant then. PG got to play with the ressies with Melo hurt and Russ taking a deserved breather and he continued his defensive mastery and three-point shooting excellence – a reminder here that prior to this game Paul George was shooting 42.3% from deep – while Grant made some buckets and they held it down while everyone else began missing. The Warriors shot just 2/7 in the first six mins of the 2Q with four turnovers, OKC up as many as 20.

It was 70-57 at HT. Westbrook had 27 but he’d not been so flash in the second, a quarter which ended with him taking a plunge in a challenge at the rim from Draymond Green and staying down as the clock ran down. No foul though and at the break KD had taken more FTAs than the entire Thunder team combined (to be fair, Draymond got a tech after the buzzer so he did get to shoot one to start the second half). 24 for Durant after two.

Durant, George and Westbrook continued to duke it out in the third. PG hitting a step-back three over KD… Durant making it rain at the other end… there was even a moment where it looked like Durant had stepped across and tripped a driving Westbrook, until the replay showed he’d actually got nowhere near a diving Westbrook who had actually tripped over his own shoe. Still got the free throws though. That cancelled out another harsh call on Adams when he tumbled over Draymond Green and was called for an offensive foul off the ball, his fourth. Billy Donovan left him in, however, and he made bank matching up on the subs Kevin Looney and JaVale McGhee a couple times. Still missing free throws, granted.

Wow, Stephen A said something worthwhile! Those third quarters are so often the decisive ones for the Warriors… the Thunder too for that matter. You know the Dubs will come out and torch it in the third, they’re shooting better than 50% in 3Qs this season but OKC have a tendency of being feast of famine. After limiting the champs to only 20 points in the frame, they were more than welcome to feast.

Draymond Green picked up his second tech with 8:13 left and he was outta there. Westbrook gave him a little applause on his way from the bench. Did the Golden State Warriors manage a miraculous comeback from there with two of their main scorers struggling and their best defensive player out? No… no they did not. 125-105 to OKC.

The Dubs took their first two-game losing streak of the season as Westbrook had 34p/9r/9a and Paul George a cheeky 38 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 6 steals. Big second half for Steve on the way to 14p & 10r as well. Who even needs Melo? Kevin Durant shot 8/14 for a very efficient 33 points but Klay was 5/13 for 12 pts and Steph 6/14 for 22 pts. Between them they were 4/15 from 3pters.

Daily Thunder: “Steven Adams was the best of everyone not named Westbrook or George, posting a 14 point, 10 rebound double-double. He struggled with foul trouble, so he ended up logging just 26 minutes of action. He finished as a plus-15, shot 7/9 from the field and continued doing every little thing the Thunder needs him to do”

Thunderous Intentions Player Grades: STEVEN ADAMS (B)

“Adams struggled with foul trouble early in this one. He only averages 2.9 fouls per game, which is not bad for a big-bodied post player. He managed to stay out of trouble late in the game to provide his usual boost. The Big Kiwi made the most of his minutes of course, recording a double-double with three steals. He is not an intimidating rim-protector, but his rebounding continues to help him shine as one of the best bigs in the West.”

SLAM DUNKS

Zach Lowe/ESPN: “Adams tosses people out of the way like George Costanza fleeing a kitchen fire at a child's birthday party. He has rebounded almost 18 percent of Thunder misses while on the floor, a monstrous number that tops the league. Adams by himself has a higher offensive rebound rate than the Mavericks do as a team, and he's within armbar-length of a few other teams. Only two rotation players -- Andre Drummond twice and Joakim Noah in limited minutes last season -- have grabbed such a large share of available offensive rebounds in the past decade.”

More Zach Lowe/ESPN: “Having a one-man wrecking crew gives Oklahoma City the best of both worlds: They grab offensive rebounds without sacrificing transition defense, since Adams can handle the rebounding part solo -- freeing everyone else to run back. Opponents often send two guys to box him out, leaving them short on numbers even if they want to grab-and-go.

Only one team, Milwaukee, allows fewer transition chances than the Thunder, per Cleaning The Glass, and Adams is a big reason for that. (Interestingly, the Thunder allow a hair fewer fast-break chances with Adams on the bench. Their offensive rebounding rate also sinks to league-worst levels without Adams, so it's possible they just don't have anyone crash the glass. Those non-Adams lineups are also small and fast.)

Adams has transformed step-by-step into a perfect supporting player -- the third-best player on the team. Two seasons ago, he got comfortable dunking lobs from Westbrook on the pick-and-roll. Last season, he polished up his floater. Now, he's making quick-hitting reads on the move, and zipping lasers right into shooting pockets. He's a beast on defense, though he can get overextended a bit when the Thunder ask him to chase pick-and-rolls beyond the 3-point arc (which happens a lot). Overall, he's a wonderful player.”