BOX SCORES

at HOUSTON ROCKETS, GAME 2 (L 115-111):

27 MINS | 5 PTS (2/3 FG, 1/2 FT) | 7 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 2 BLK | 6 PF

vs HOUSTON ROCKETS, GAME 3 (W 115-113):

26 MINS | 4 PTS (2/5 FG) | 6 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 2 PF

vs HOUSTON ROCKETS, GAME 4 (L 113-109):

37 MINS | 18 PTS (8/10 FG, 2/5 FT) | 7 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 3 BLK | 2 TO | 1 PF

NEXT UP

at HOUSTON ROCKETS, GAME 5, Wednesday 12.00pm (NZT)

vs HOUSTON ROCKETS, GAME 6, Friday TBD (NZT)*

at HOUSTON ROCKETS, GAME 7, Sunday TBD (NZT)*

*IF NECESSARY

CLICK HERE FOR SOME GAME 1 KIWI STEVE-ING

at HOUSTON ROCKETS, GAME 2 (L 115-111)

There were a lot of things that went wrong in the first game. Memories of Steven Adams getting baited and switched onto James Harden, Harden then going mental with a bunch of points, the Thunder failing to rebound like they’re supposed to (although they did make some threes) and the Rockets bench thoroughly outplaying the OKC counterparts.

But they were blessed with a decent break to make their adjustments for game two. That’s always nice. However before we get into that, a few words from NFL defensive end extraordinaire J.J. Watt, who plays for the Houston Texans there and happened to be in the crowd down courtside when Adams dropped Patty Beverley in game one. He had some thoughts on the matter.

J.J. Watt: “That dude knocks him out I’m like okay, we might have a problem, you’re messing with my guy Pat.”

That guy? Meh, the Texans are crap anyway.

Onto game two and the first thing to note is that regular service resumed odd the boards and from the edge. The Rockets had the advantage shooting threes and the Thunder with the rebounds, as things ought to be. what’s more is that on the back of a superb first half from Russell Westbrook, OKC also shot out to an early lead and the buggers maintained it all half.

Following on from a pretty average performance in G1, Steven Adams summed up the Thunder improvements with a beautiful play for the first points of G2. He beat out Clint Capela for the tip-off too, but it was the flip pass back inside to a cutting Andre Roberson after being set up on the edge of the paint. Then there was a dunk from a close-in feed from Westbrook, taking advantage of his own defensive gravitational pull with a nice pass. Great way for Stevie to start, not only showing some confidence on the ball but also establishing a few variations on his post play to keep Capela and company thinking. If only they’d let him have a few more touches there, aye?

Adams said he didn’t really care about getting switched onto James Harden, Billy Donovan said it was a pick your poison situation either way. So no surprise that they let that keep happening (Andre Roberson can’t do everything on the defence after all). Naturally Adams plays that a little cautiously, standing off Harden to cover the drive to the hoop which lets him have a few open threes and mid-rangers. Luckily El Beardo isn’t the best three point shooter so you can see the sense there – though his options early on were to pass and a few turnovers later the Thunder had exploded out of the traps for a 16-4 lead.

Adams on the pick and roll actions on defence: “Looking at video, bro, it's down to positioning, getting those reads on when to go. You can't be premature about it, otherwise they do what they do. We cleared it up a lot more, bigs and guards. We've just gotta make sure we come out more aggressive with more physicality, forcing them to do stuff rather than letting them do stuff.”

Another thing we saw was some shifty substitutions as Donovan looked to stagger his bench a bit more. There’s only so much he can do there with Westbrook running the show – he’s either on the court or off it, right? – and it was Russ banking points all over the place. Cool to see Steve-o playing with a bit more energy, more focus too though. Russ was pure feasting off those deep screens.

Steve picked up a couple late personal fouls in the first which took some of the shine off things. With the Rockets playing disjointed, they were relying on their reliable free throw shooting and when you get to the line as well as they do then the points never truly dry up. Having led by as many as 15 points in the first, the lead was down to nine after 1Q, 35-26, Lou Williams with a triple as the clock hit zero.

The bench young’uns did a few things but Semaj Christon and Enes Kanter wouldn’t be seen much more this game. Houston have genuine scorers on their bench, they’re never without an offensive threat and that means the defensive weaknesses on OKC’s own second unit are super vulnerable. Victor Oladipo was splitting time with them but he couldn’t really guard dudes either, strangely. The Rockets are also terrible on defence so they didn’t quite flip the script but a Pat Beverley trey made it a 43-40 game and it was 46-40 when Adams returned to proceedings. Pretty much the first thing he did? Dunktown, baby.

OKC got up as many as 11 again before Adams sat down again with 91 seconds left in the half after picking up a third personal. This time on James Harden, who was getting FTs at will but this was Steve’s first mistake on him. Russ missed a late three as the buzzer neared but ended the half with 22 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists. Huge from him and impressive overall from the Thunder… yet they were only up six at the break. Not the best sign.

On the positive, Ryan Anderson was terrible shooting 0/7 from deep in his 29 minutes. On the negative, Oladipo shot 4/14 in his 41 mins, adding 9 rebounds but only scoring 11 points. Taj Gibson had some slight foul trouble in only playing 21 minutes and that’s clearly not enough time – Jerami Grant getting a lot of it instead.

And as for Adams, he wouldn’t even get a shot off in the second half. He scored those two dunks on Westbrook feeds and missed a five-footer in the second as well as splitting two free throws but the whole second half he was barely used with ball in hand. He did, however, bring six minutes of huge defence in the third, including two blocked shots – one off Harden, one off Capela, before he was called for foul #4. The bench unit played out the last few minutes of the 3Q and got pummelled, a few Harden buckets and we entered the final frame with OKC only up three in a game they’d been ahead in the whole distance, the Rockets closing it on a 12-3 run.

Welcome to Loud City: “Steven Adams - better, but still not nearly enough.”

Russ was frantic and pretty much demanding he got put back in. So he was, as was Steve. They went on a 5-0 run and then Adams got #5. He had to sit again and things got absolutely ugly. Westbrook was magnificent for three quarters and then he went and took 18 shots in the fourth, scoring on a mere four of them. 4/18 for a quarter, that’s terrible. The shot selection was desperate and reckless and the Rockets kept on playing their usual game. Eventually they overtook them. An Eric Gordon three giving the HOU their first lead of the game with 8:07 remaining.

They did get Kiwi Steve back in there for the last spell of the game but the Thunder were all over the show by now. Westbrook got 51 points for the highest scoring triple double in playoff history but he also kinda blew it at the end while Harden’s much more efficient 35 points where he made 18/20 free throws were almost more impressive, somehow. Gordon scored 22 off the bench, Williams the same with 21, each making three triples. Apart from some hoops from Doug McDermott, the Thunder got nothing of the sort. Steve fouled out with literally a couple seconds remaining. OKC did tie it up with around three mins left, Russ and Roberson at work there (and Steve on the floor still), but they couldn’t strike further from 104-all.

Here’s the summary for Steven Adams. Only 5 points and 7 rebounds, yet another low scoring game, but his defence and screening made for an overall strong one. Fouls meant he only played 27 minutes yet his plus/minus was a +18… and this in a match his team lost. He can do much better, sure, but it was the time he spent off the court that his team really got killed in.

Jerami Grant was slammed in his 26 minutes. Semaj Christon played only seven of them and was outscored by 15 on the floor, dammit. Russ got 51… the next most points came from Andre Roberson’s 12 (Robbo who is also playing brilliant ball at the moment).

Steven Adams on that 4Q: “We just weren't taking the greatest of shots, and they really capitalized on that. It was a combination of things and our mental stamina needs to be a little better.”

vs HOUSTON ROCKETS, GAME 3 (W 115-113)

And then finally the Oklahomans got on the board. Facing the prospect of going down 3-0, a near-impossible deficit to overcome (hey, even the Cavs were only down 3-1), they pulled one back on home-court… though they didn’t have to change a whole lot to make it happen.

The opening stint of the match was the same script as last time. Fast start and a quick lead. Taj Gibson got involved with a couple buckets, and while Stevie missed his first look at the hoop, he gathered up the offensive board and dished it to Andre Roberson for three. Then Adams ripped one away from Jimmy Harden and bingo. OKC lead 11-2.

Funaki sat upon conceding his first foul. Harden made both free throws and cut the lead then down to ten points with around four mins left in the first. Still a very healthy advantage and compared to the first couple games, we saw a situation where the Rockets simply weren’t making a lot of shots. Roberson was sticking hard to Harden and those other Houston starters, they weren’t doing a lot. Other than Ando but he was still 2/7 from deep.

We all know that the bench is crucial here. We all know that they can’t afford to let things slip like they have in other games against the Rockets (and… you know, everyone else too). So curious that we didn’t even get a sight of Semaj Christon. Norris Cole instead took the nine minutes that Westbrook sat for but when Russ exited the first quarter, Stevie re-entered it. Dude got his ass blocked by Nene and watched his bro Roberson miss back to back free throws – as well as missing a second shot himself – yet right as the 1Q came to a frantic close he was there to tip one in from a Norris Cole miss. OKC still lead, now 34-25.

Then, just because this was a happy game going in the right direction, Billy Donovan was able to get some quality time outta Kanter and Oladipo and the rest of the seconds before he brought Russ in. as for Adams, he’d had to wait until less than three minutes to go in the half. Bit of a weird line-up going smaller with Grant at the five. About 40 seconds before Steve got up, Grant dunked for a 12 point buffer on the scoreboard. That lead was cut to seven points by the break but it definitely felt sturdier than the six point lead the other day.

NBA.com: “There are plenty of other problems for Oklahoma City - the Thunder fall apart when Westbrook rests, the team has struggled to keep James Harden off the foul line, Steven Adams' foul trouble crippled their interior defense in Game 2 and they are stretched thin chasing Houston's numerous perimeter threats. But getting Oladipo on track is perhaps the most critical.”

Here’s a lesson on defence: sometimes they simply make a tough shot, no matter what you do.

The first minute of the third quarter was all Trevor Ariza and then Harden drew another three free throws – he keeps doing that, and nobody drew more shooting fouls from beyond the arc during the regular season. A triple thirty seconds later and a 9-0 run to start the half had the Rocks in front. So the Thunder turned… not to Russell Westbrook but to Taj Gibson. Also Russ… but especially Taj. Gibbo joined from the Bulls midseason in that Cam Payne trade (Rondo got injured and Payne was still inactive in G4 for the Bulls, which is telling). After only scoring 13 points combined in the initial two games, Gibson shot 10/13 in this one to drop 20 points.

Steve played the whole third but didn’t do a lot on the ball. A hard foul on Harden which he somehow finished still, a silky assist to Abrines. No points but a few rebounds. He then sat for rest until almost the final minute of the fourth and despite only one field goal in the first three mins, they definitely needed him there.

The bench almost blew the lead, then Enes Kanter got a few timely baskets to allow Russ to come back in refreshed and with the lead still. With 5:13 left, Gibson threw in a layup to extend the advantage to ten points, 106-96. Then Houston reeled off a 7-0 run, another of those little bursts that kept them in touch all night, aided by a Gibson turnover and Roberson missed three, and Donovan was calling a timeout in some desperation. Russ missed, then Gordon missed. Both teams had turnovers. Time for a Rockets timeout.

Skipping forward to the real clutch, Harden made three more free throws as Oladipo caught him. Strangely Russ was missing the odd free throw himself and it was with him at the line that Adams was called upon once more. Except the first thing he saw was Harden drilling a three to tie the game at 111-all. Then this happened:

Yeah now that was handy. In the last 18 seconds, James Harden missed two three pointers that woulda given Houston the lead again. He scored 44 points here – making two late FTs to keep his team in range while Westbrook split a pair that gave Harden the opportunity to win it with the ultimate possession. He didn’t though, and the Thunder were on the board in this series. Sometimes it all comes down to that, aye?

Yo Nene, hands off, mate!

Westbrook was way more effective in the final frame as he dished the ball around more often. Surrounding him with more shooters has its defensive frailties but at least there are shooters there, you know. Gibson’s 20 points were huge and Roberson and Oladipo added 12 each. We’re not seeing the best of Dipo as his scoring fluctuates between bad and average however Roberson’s offensive output has been a welcome bonus. Then right at the end we had that Steven Adams tip-in, making up for a tough attempt from Russco, to give OKC the decisive lead at the death. Shot bro.

Russell Westbrook ain’t got a cast: “We're all one team. I don't have a cast, I don't have other guys. We're all in this together and my teammates have been doing a great job all season long.”

Thunder Digest: “Taj Gibson led the way, as he was huge in the win. He defended well, and was a great roll man for Westbrook. Steven Adams didn’t exactly stuff the stat sheet, be also was great defensively. He also had a huge tip-in to keep Oklahoma City alive really late.”

More Thunder Digest: “Steven Adams, Taj Gibson and Enes Kanter have been dominated on the glass and in the paint for most of the series. Sunday, Nene scored 28 points on 12-of-12 shooting in 25 minutes. Nene, who’s unofficially as old as Adams and Kanter ages combined, took the trio of Thunder bigs to school like it was 2005. Although Adams scored 18 points and had three blocks, Nene dominated on the offensive end and controlled the game for Houston when he was in. Kanter was again ineffective, scoring two points on 1-of-5 shooting. A game after scoring 20 points and dominating all facets of the game, Gibson scored six points on 2-of-5 shooting. Gibson was key in OKC’s victory Friday night, scoring 12 points in the first quarter and Sunday was ineffective, again. As the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Daily Thunder: “The Thunder were +11 in rebounds, +12 in offensive rebounds and +9 in fast break points. They played much more competitively tonight because they played to their strengths for the majority of the game. The Thunder need to emphasize scoring in the paint more and simply need to tighten rotations with their best 8 or 9 players. I think Oladipo should play backup point guard minutes, which would open up some playing time at the shooting guard position for Roberson and more minutes for Grant and McDermott at small forward. Playing small-ball is usually a good strategy, but it’s taking away minutes from Taj Gibson and Steven Adams. The Thunder could crash every offensive board with this strategy, it might help them score in the paint and the defense wouldn’t suffer with an elite defender like Roberson slotted at shooting guard for spot minutes.”

vs HOUSTON ROCKETS, GAME 4 (L 113-109)

The pattern’s getting rather clear now. Thunder start fast, always. It wasn’t quite so rapid this time around thanks to a Trevor Ariza triple (his first of the series!) but two baskets from none other than Kiwi Steve got OKC in the ascendency. First he got the ball on the move from Oladipo and flipped it in from seven feet before the second one where he grabbed a miss from Gibson with one hand over Capela, spun on him and threw it up and in. Next points? They came from Harden losing the handle, Adams picking it up and firing it downfield, Peyton Manning style, to Roberson for the lay in.

Steve’s not been as bad as people think (some people only read box scores) but this was the first time all series we’ve really seen him dominate for a period of time on offence. Not just one cool move and then settle on defence for the next five, but three big offensive plays, all different, in a row. When people talk about others standing up and helping Westbrook, this is what they mean. Just a few minutes later Russ noticed the defence riding too high on him around the key and he tossed it inside to Steve. One dribble to get himself in range and then slam with the right hand. Count it for another couple on the board.

Next thing the Thunder are up 19-9, taking a double digit lead in the first once more. It wasn’t like they were keeping Houston out of the paint either, they were still getting their looks but a hint more aggression on defence was leading to all these blocks. Roberson paved the way for his mates there, he’d have five of them in the contest. But then Nene came on and started finishing through traffic and he was a question the Thunder never found an answer to.

Our lad Adams got in on the block party with denials on both Gordon and Harden late in the first. A quarter which he’d play the distance of, by the way. It’s these shifty line-up alterations that’s got Billy Donovan thinking – mostly in how he balances Westbrook’s time off the court and as we’ve seen one of his ideas is to stutter his bench minutes with a starter or two. Usually Oladipo but also Adams and Gibson. The Rockers made another of those pushes towards the end of the first, however. A 7-0 run to close it, highlighted by an Ariza and-one where Adams was caught off his feet and pretty much landed on top of him. Ouch.

The lead whittled away to one point before Westbrook took advantage of an Eric Gordon tech and then Dougie McBuckets hit a three. Funaki returned to a 38-36 game and watched a few free throws go down before donating another two points to the cause on the break with Russell. Shout out to a point guard to lets his big put it home after running the length of the court beside him.

The weird thing was while Westbrook was on his way to making 12/13 free throws in this one, James Harden couldn’t get a call to save himself. The Beard would only score 8 points in the whole first half and later alluded to an ankle complaint he’d been playing through that limited his explosion. It didn’t limit him too much in the fourth but the first three he definitely struggled for rhyme and rhythm. He shot 49 free throws in the first three games.

Another put-back from Adams meant he finally had double-figs in a game this series. He got caught out by Trevor Ariza with a pass on the turn which was picked off but then he blocked Ariza in the paint with a long arm for the Thunder’s 14th block of the first half. That’s something right there. Unfortunately, just like a Roberson block earlier that had ended up as a Gordon three instead, Nene picked up the loose ball and threw it down for more. Gotta clean up those loose balls and defensive rebounds if you’re gonna hurt the Rockets, they learned that lesson in game one.

Westbrook completed his third straight playoff triple-double with the last rebound of the half but OKC only led by four, 58-54. Then in the third they had issues. Not initially as a 12-2 run outta the blocks, capped by an and-one for Stevie Adams (he missed the FT) got them up 70-56. What’s more is that Westbrook had zero points but two assists in the streak so he was facilitating and other blokes were making. Except that between Adams’ shot with the foul with 8:18 on the 3Q clock and Adams’ driving layup with 3:44 on the 3Q clock, the team was absolutely scoreless. Russell didn’t score a single point in the whole quarter and Roberson was missing from the free throw line. That big lead was gone, Adams missed two shots in the drought (one was blocked). He also copped a harsh travel call and got fouled again by Harden for more shots. Split the free throws, as he tends to do… but he got his own rebound on the miss. OKC able to stretch back to a seven point buffer.

Adams stayed in when Westbrook took his seat but didn’t close the quarter, Donovan bringing in Taj Gibson to play the five with the second unit once Houston threw in Ryan Anderson in opposition. There was sloppiness on both sides although Trevor Ariza made his third three and with twelve minutes left it was a four point game.

Then the usual thing happened. Enes Kanter and bench chums got sloppy on defence, Houston made some shots and Westbrook almost had to be held back from subbing himself in as the Rockets jumped in front. After going scoreless in the third, Russ nailed his first trey to tie things up then set Grant up for a dunk and the restored lead. But what had been a 75-68 scoreline had become an 81-79 one, Houston going on a 13-4 run with Westbrook on the bench. Remember that fact because it’s gonna come in crucial soon.

Time for an Altercation Interlude:

There were a little more than four minutes remaining when Mike D’Antoni played his wildcard: Hack-A-Robbo. We all know these Houston fans have suffered the intentional fouls more than most so they finally got to dish some out and Roberson… he didn’t disappoint. Missed a pair to make it 0/11 for the series (huh!) before making his next two (yuss!) and then missing four more (argh!). The only reprieve was when Westbrook was smart enough to draw a shooting foul, for three, before anyone could get to Roberson for the fifth time. That was huge because suddenly we were under three mins left and OKC had managed to weather the storm – finally subbing out Roberson for a minute until the off-the-ball fouls stopped being shooters.

Frankly the last couple minutes from both teams was terrible. Bad choices and worse execution in so many situations. Russ was thankfully able to hit some hard ones (which he chose to shoot, so burden’s on him there) but coming back to that 6’11 Brazilian – there was no answer for Nene. The bugger went and set a playoff record with 12/12 shooting, scoring 28 points. And here we were watching Steven Adams set a career playoff high of 18 points and getting hyped. They kept James Harden to 16 points on 16 shots and with 0/7 on his deep shooting. Granted one of Nene’s hoops was actually tipped in by Westbrook going for the rebound. Own… hoop?

Oklahoma City were within two with under two left when Oladipo hit a clutch three. Then Beverley missed a triple for Houston but Westbrook turned it over on the way down. He turned it over again next time he got it and missed consecutive three balls the following two times. With 21 seconds to go, Adams got himself to the line and made numero uno before turning to Russ and calling out a play. Oh, here we go, New Zealand…

Damn, that’s cool. If there’s one thing that Steven Adams does better than most… it’s miss free throws. And this was the best free throw miss of his career. Westbrook with the banger and it’s a one point game. Only then they got back into the characteristic dumbness as nobody committed the early foul like they should’ve and by the time Oladipo got his hand on Nene it was way too soft and allowed the Brazilian to finish through the contact with ease for the three point play that extended the lead to four again. Alex Abrines narrowly beat out Adams for a tip-in from a Westbrook miss but Eric Gordon made his FTs and it was game over. They, ah… kinda let that one slip away.

Sweet as that Stevie got involved in the scoring finally. He was working on those pick and rolls to the basket, making sure he got a few offensive boards like late in the regular season too. The defensive ones are an issue for the team, perhaps clearing out for Russ isn’t so effective against better teams – there was a perfect example of exactly why they do it when Westbrook took one in and gunned straight down court and set Adams up on the run, defence immediately into offence, but the amount of second efforts they keep conceding is worrying.

Thunder Digest: “Nene ate and he ate. He ate until he was full then he ate some more. Adams had his best playoff game of the season and it was for naught as Nene dominated. Kanter was invisible and Taj Gibson was in foul trouble. Poor performance in a game Oklahoma City needed so bad.”

Almost as worry as the bench’s tendency to leak points and lose leads. But don’t tell Russ that, he won’t have none of it. Don’t even ask Steven Adams as he sits for his first ever podium game. Credit to RW for trying to protect his guys but hopefully they address this in private because the facts are still the facts.

(Here are some words on that from NewsOK’s Berry Tramel – aka the dude who asked the question.)

That NASA shirt is top quality as well. Fine choice, sir.

Bench points: Houston 64 vs OKC 22. The Rockets’ top three scorers were their three bench blokes. Norris Cole was scoreless in 9 mins and was outscored by 18 points while on the court, compared to the +14 when Russell Westbrook was playing.

The Ringer on the FT miss: “He nailed every part of it. He popped the ball off the front of the rim such that it ricocheted (a) straight backwards in Adams’s direction and (b) far enough that Adams could rebound it even though he wasn’t allowed to cross the free throw line until the ball hit the rim. (Perhaps Adams should be an Olympic shot-putter like his sister.) And in one motion, he rebounded the ball and passed it to Westbrook. Maybe this was luck. Maybe it was a skill that Adams is better at than every other basketball player I’ve ever seen.”

Thunderous Intentions: “Steven Adams played big ball basketball today. I’ve been railing on him most of the season, but his presence down low was key to Houston’s frustrations on dribble drives. He finished with 3 of Oklahoma City’s 14 blocks and also was a big factor on offense with 18 points on 10 shots.”

Welcome to Loud City: “Steven Adams was another strong performer for the Thunder on Sunday afternoon. He poured in 18 points, while shooting an efficient 8-10 from the field. He had a +5 +/- as well. Though, the downfall of his outing was his defense —mainly allowing Nene to score a career-playoff high 28 points. - Grade: B-”

ODDS & ENDS

NewsOK: “Steven Adams knows the Thunder can't afford to trade baskets with the Rockets. It's why he and his Stache Brother, Enes Kanter, might not see the floor together in Game 2 Wednesday ... or maybe the entire first round.

“I don't know mate, that's for people much smarter than me,” Adams said when asked if he and Kanter together can work against the high-octane Rockets. “My coach, if he determines we can get a really good advantage as well as not give up as much, if he sees sort of an advantage there, then yeah. But we've just gotta wait and see, mate.””

Daily Thunder ask ‘Is Steven Adams OKC’s Second Best Player?’:

“Positives: Has a cool mustache, has all the skills to become the greatest late night TV host in history, everyone on the team loves him, sets a mean screen when he wants to, uses phrases like “swingin’ at the knees” to describe a good performance, can win an entire playoff series by getting a player on the other team suspended (*cough*ZBO*cough), is an above average rim protector, can run the screen-and-roll and catch lobs from Russ and well as anyone, is 7’1 and 275 pounds but still athletic.+

Negatives: Has plum forgotten that he’s 7’1 and 275 pounds but still athletic, can’t shoot aside from the magical seven-foot flip shots, has looked unable to switch high screens onto faster players this series, doesn’t seem to have the desire to average 20 points per game long term, doesn’t take more than two showers per week (ok maybe I’m guessing on that last one).”

Alright there, squires. Just gotta take a sec to say that if you rate these things we write here, then you can help us out by giving one of those flashing page ads a whack in return. Love ya work.