Kiwi Steve in the NBA #21: Stretch
BOX SCORES
at HOUSTON ROCKETS (L 137-125)
24 MINS | 11 PTS (3/6 FG, 5/6 FT) | 4 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL
at DALLAS MAVERICKS (W 92-91)
29 MINS | 8 PTS (4/6 FG) | 6 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 2 BLK | 3 TO | 3 PF
at ORLANDO MAGIC (W 114-108 OT)
29 MINS | 7 PTS (3/5 FG, 1/5 FT) | 9 REB | 2 BLK | 1 TO | 1 PF
NEXT WEEK
vs SAN ANTONIO SPURS, Saturday 1.00pm (NZT)
vs CHARLOTTE HORNETS, Monday 7.00am (NZT)
vs MILWAUKEE BUCKS, Wednesday 12.00pm (NZT)
at MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES, Thursday 12.00pm (NZT)
ANOTHER VITAL MESSAGE FROM THE STACHE BROS
at HOUSTON ROCKETS (L 137-125)
If you believe the hype then all that MVP chatter had to focus sharply on this here game. Russell Westbrook against James Harden. Well now, they may be best mates off the court but they’re scrapping for the same award on it and here they were head to head.
Yeah… about that. Russ scored 39 points and grabbed yet another triple double while Harden had to settle for 22 points and 12 assists but the Thunder got absolutely pounded into the dirt. Three Rockets dudes all scored more than Harden’s 22, including Lou Williams with 31 points off the bench, but Harden had his fingerprints on everything as Houston… they just couldn’t miss. And you can put up all the numbers you want but when your team is down as many as 25 points then nobody’s looking at you and saying MVP. Not on days like that.
Westbrook tried to get things off on the right foot, charging at the basket his first possession. But he missed. Then Taj Gibson missed from the mid-range. Then Steven Adams missed one of those hook floaters from nine feet. It took nearly three minutes for OKC to even get on the board and by then they were 9-0 down.
Yo they came flying back though. There was this great spell for Stevo where, after Roberson had fouled The Beard for three FTs, got himself to the line at the expense of a Sam Dekker PF and you know what he did? He made both his free throws! Mate it feels like ages since he did that. Then he went and made another one for fun, getting fouled by Trevor Ariza as Westbrook ended a layup. Add in a dunk and that was six points in a little over a minute of play. There was an assist to Alex Abrines for three soon after, loving Steve’s improving interior passing game this season. That’s been one factor of his performance that’s continually grown over 2016-17.
But despite scoring 31 in the first quarter the Thunder still trailed by six. Then they let the Rockets score a crushing 42 points in the second. They let in 73 points in the first half, you aren’t winning very many games playing like that, that’s the truth. For example:
Fast forward to the end of the third and they were down 113-88. It was game over, a team as good as the Rockets weren’t gonna let that slip from there. OKC were able to eat into that margin a little bit but not enough to ever threaten. A Russ triple got it as close as eight points but by then there were only a minute and a half left to play so it still would’ve taken a miracle on top of a miracle.
With his team chasing offence at all costs, Adams didn’t even take the hardwood in the fourth quarter. But he did make a couple more free throws, making 5 outta 6 on the night. The one he missed was an and-one oppo so he still banked two points net from that exchange. Got him to a cheeky 11 points, though this wasn’t a game where his particular skills were much needed.
The main reason for the defeat? That’d be the Rockets shooting 63.3% from the field for the entire match. They were 20/39 from three point range, that’s 51.3%. You’d imagine only the Warriors could maintain against that kind of onslaught… though GSW have a much better defence than OKC. Trevor Ariza made six threes. Eric Gordon made four. Lou Williams was 7/8 from deep. Anyone wanna try guarding that perimeter, aye? Although while we’re casting blame there, Clint Capela and Nene Hilario combined for 12/15 shooting and 28 points so Adams and Kanter, who pretty much split the time at C, don’t emerge without faults either.
Thunderous Intentions: “Here’s the thing – Steven Adams has made improvement this year. He’s scoring almost four more points per game while increasing his averages in almost every statistical category. That’s to be expected for a fourth-year player though, especially considering the loss of Kevin Durant’s production. Adams’ skillset has expanded to include a six-to-twelve foot floater as well as a few isolation post moves; that’s why the minimal progress is so alarming. Not all of it is Adams’ fault. His 16.2% usage rate is only a 3.5% percent increase from last season. But that doesn’t make up for the slippage on the defensive end from the Big Kiwi.”
Daily Thunder: “The Thunder got good contributions from Taj Gibson, Steven Adams and Enes Kanter tonight. Each guy played less than 25 minutes and I think that’s a mistake. The Thunder don’t have the talent on the wing to properly match Houston’s small-ball and it felt like the Thunder tried to out-shoot Houston.”
at DALLAS MAVERICKS (W 92-91)
The task then moved from a guaranteed playoff team to a side playing just to keep their slim post-season hopes alive. The Mavericks came into this one needing to win their last ten games just to get back to an even season (though a losing record could still mean playoffs in the West the way the top three teams are hogging Ws) however they’re a very competitive side at home, having already beaten OKC in Texas once this season.
Look, it started nice enough. Taj Gibson with the running finish and although Steve missed his first shot Russ didn’t and OKC were able to get a narrow lead. Nerlens Noel was scoring all the points for Dallas, having emerged into the starting line-up now several weeks after his big trade, with the rest of them mostly with the radar gone wonky and a twenty-footer from Westbrook made it 21-14 with 3:44 left in the first quarter. Adams had a steal and would soon add a rebound. The game was going in the right direction.
Well, apart from when he fouled Dirk Nowitzki. Watch yo’ back, fellow kiwis. Despite how good Stevie would look in camo, we ain’t prepared for war just yet.
Except that while Adams was fouling and rebounding, the Mavs were starting to score. Westbrook sat with a 21-19 advantage. Adams sat 47 seconds later with the score identical. A J.J. Barea jumper then gave Dallas the 1Q lead at 26-25, coming after Salah Mejri had dunked all over a very disinterested Enes Kanter. He wasn’t going anywhere near that poster.
And OKC then didn’t score for almost the first half of the second quarter. Add in the last bit of the first and it was over six minutes between Kanter’s five-footer and Russ’ driving layup. That’s kinda outrageous from 21-14 up they’d coughed out a 22-4 Mavericks scoring run.
Bloody Steven Adams too, he checked back into the game and gave away an offensive foul, two turnovers and a defensive three-second call in the space of three and a half minutes. At least he finished one near the hoop for his first points of the contest.
Doing the damage for Dallas was that Nerlens fella. He started missing shots in the third but he was everywhere doing everything. Rebounds, steals, blocks, scoring… mate. Noel finished with 15 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks. The only guy who seemed able to handle him was… Steven Adams actually.
Mavs Moneyball: “When the Thunder last visited the Mavericks, Noel put up 13 points and four rebounds in 16 foul-riddled minutes. Considering what short time Nerlens had, these numbers are a nice contribution to what was a solid Mavs win. If Noel can keep out of foul trouble and stick around for about 30 minutes, we can hope for a solid double-double to combat the Thunder’s front court of Steven Adams and Taj Gibson.”
The Thunder trailed 69-57 entering the fourth quarter. Yes, only 57 points in three quarters. Dallas’ mark was hardly impressive either to be honest, the Thunder were just doing worse. Both teams hit a couple shots to at least give the impression that something might catch fire and when Adams went over to the scorers' desk to re-enter the margin was about the same, down 82-70 with 6:43 remaining.
Taj Gibson and Vic Oladipo made shots to keep things ticking until Russ got busy, which he soon did, but then Yogi got the switch on Steve and the ball went swish. Mavs lead 91-78 with 3:31 to play and the game slipping away.
Erm, hold your horses there Nate Dog. You seem to have forgotten about that Russell Westbrook guy. In the last six minutes of this game, Russ did what… gotta say it: what MVPs do. 16 points with an assist in that short space of time, probably missing as many shots as he made but still making enough. One of those misses (coming after a missed travel call, tbf) was stormed in by Steven Adams on the follow up, his fourth bucket of the contest and coming right after he stole a ball from Harrison Barnes for a crucial stop.
The Mavs pretty much ended as an offensive team with that Ferrell triple. They were kept scoreless for the final 3:31 of the game, the Thunder closers of Westbrook, Oladipo, Roberson, Gibson and Adams all playing some stifling defence as well. When Noel was replaced by Dirk, Adams was also replaced in kind by Jerami Grant. With 51 seconds left Russ hit a pull-up to make it 91-90. With 19 seconds to go he missed a chance to take the lead. But with seven seconds left he spotted up Wes Matthews on around the free throw line and sunk it, leaving the Mavs with no time to set an offence and no timeouts. Barnes missed a deep three-pointer on the buzzer and the Thunder, somehow, won.
(Adams had the other two).
NewsOK: “The Thunder typically plays with at least one of Steven Adams or Enes Kanter on the court, and when it plays them together — or one of them with Taj Gibson or Domantas Sabonis — it's susceptible to small-ball lineups that can attack bigger players in pick-and-rolls. The Rockets did that with great success in Sunday's 137-125 win in Houston. The Mavericks can do it, too, in lineups when swingman Harrison Barnes plays power forward, and on Monday, the Thunder was better down the stretch. During its 14-0 run to close the game, Oklahoma City held Dallas to 0-for-6 shooting and forced two turnovers. The Mavericks missed four 3-pointers during that stretch.”
at ORLANDO MAGIC (W 114-108 OT)
A bad way to start when playing a weaker team on the road would be giving away a bucket of turnovers. Like MVP candidate Russell Westbrook for example, who coughed up five of them in the first quarter against a team already eliminated from playoff contention in the East. Then another two in the second quarter.
Meanwhile we were treated to a good old fashioned slugfest between Steven Adams and Nicola Vucevic, beginning at the tip-off but really getting exciting when they blocked each other’s shots within eight first quarter seconds of each other. Which also meant a couple early defensive rebounds for Steve, which is good for the stats.
Anyway, OKC up 10-2 after four minutes. No points for either big fella but four quickies for Russell Westbrook. Problem was the Thunder weren’t getting to their shots all that smoothly and Terrence Ross and Aaron Gordon closed it right back up to a near-even game. Then Adams blocked Vucevic again. Then he drew his second foul on the Montenegran. Early points to Kiwi Steve… except for the early points bit because he missed his first two field goals and missed his first two free throws as well. An and-one situation got him three to his name later on and at the end of the quarter it was 20-18 to OKC – Adams playing all 12 minutes.
By the time he’d got back in there, having given Enes a run, they were down by 38-35, Westbrook having just given up turnover number seven. Guess what? He wouldn’t lose another one all night.
A good thing too because some clinical defence from the Magic was making it hard enough already. This Thunder offence isn’t really built to thrive when Westbrook ain’t balling. There tends not to be the room for pass after extra pass, turning a good look into a great one and all that. So with Westbrook about the only bugger who could score the Magic were well poised so long as they contained him. They did too, for most of the third quarter, and an offensive flourish from Evan Fournier shot them out to a 21 point lead. Unlike the Mavs game, it never felt totally out of the Thunder’s reach because they had the vivid memory of that comeback handy, but this was getting ugly alright.
Steven Adams wasn’t helping much either. An 11 footer was good for him only he soon missed another pair of free throws. That made him 1/5 for the night, a long way from the recent flash of resurgence from the line that he showed going 5/6 against Houston. The 21 point lead came just as he sat down on the bench. Luckily a lil Enes Kanter, subbing in for his Stache Bro, helped slim the lead down to 10 points after three – Kanter would score 17 with 10 rebounds off the bench. Hardly the most crucial contribution of the game but one they couldn’t have won without.
Nah, the most crucial one came from the usual suspect. The man who even opposition crowds chant M-V-P for and it was no different in Florida. Enes and the bench kept the deficit where it was and then Russ came surging back. In the final 6:01 of this game (well, of this quarter) he scored 19 points. Having missed a triple that woulda tied things with 22 seconds left, he made one that did tie things with seven seconds left (getting a layup in the middle of it). Count it and 50 points for Russ.
Yahoo Sports/AP: “Westbrook forced overtime with a 3-pointer that tied the game at 102 with 7.1 seconds left for his 50th point on the night. Seven seconds earlier, Vucevic could have put the game away but he missed the back end of a free throw set that left Oklahoma City only needing Westbrook's 3 to send it into overtime.”
OKC then blitzed the overtime period and Westbrook ended with 57 points to go with 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Another triple-double? Of course it was another triple-double. His 38th of the season.
Adams didn’t even play in the overtime period. Instead Coach Billy went with a line-up that pushed Gibson to the five, with Grant, Roberson and Oladipo playing the rhythm section to Russ’ trumpet soloing. It’s a lineup that he’s tried a little lately and looks the goods against a team that’ll give you some room on offence. Adams isn’t playing well enough to justify undroppable-in-the-clutch status so this isn’t a shocker. They did some good stuff without him out there, but this is a team with some options now.
WTLC: “While Oklahoma City’s opening five uncharacteristically struggled, the team’s two most successful lineups contained Jerami Grant and four OKC starters with a variant of Steven Adams or Taj Gibson — though the Adams lineup yielded a bit more success (8-of-14 FG, 8 reb, 18 pts, 6 minutes, +9).”
NewsOK: “Westbrook's pursuit has been manifested in two main ways: 1) His passing is ultra-aggressive in the first quarter; whether it's assist-hunting or just trying to get teammates involved, Westbrook turns down shots early in games to spread the ball around; 2) Westbrook's teammates, particularly Steven Adams, Enes Kanter and Domantas Sabonis, acquiesce a rebound or two per game, allowing Westbrook to grab a missed shot unencumbered.”
