Steven Adams is one series away from taking part in basketball's Holy Grail; the NBA finals. The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the LA Clippers 104-98 in Los Angeles yesterday to win their Western Conference semi-final series by four games to two. The Herald reports on Adams' massive contribution:
A career-best night from Steven Adams has helped Oklahoma City sneak past the Los Angeles Clippers and into the NBA Conference Finals.
Adams showed impeccable timing this afternoon (NZT) to produce a spectacular performance in the series' clinching game in Los Angeles, recording a double-double and setting career highs in both minutes and rebounds.
His side's 104-98 victory in game six of the conference semifinals saw the Thunder seal the series 4-2 and advance to a meeting with the San Antonio Spurs, with game one set for Tuesday.
The triumph leaves Adams eight wins away from capping an amazing rookie season with an NBA title and, based on today's performance, he should see significant game time against the Spurs.
Coming off the bench to finish the win with a whopping 40 minutes, Adams trailed only MVP Kevin Durant among his teammates and saw more court time than even All Star point guard Russell Westbrook. His previous career-high, set in the regular season, was 30 minutes.
The Kiwi produced the second double-double of his young career, scoring an invaluable 10 points and grabbing 11 boards, surpassing his career-best of 10. Adams also chimed in with a steal and a block on All Star Blake Griffin.
The impressive stat line hardly came in garbage time, either. Adams was contributing on the court as the Thunder hauled in an early 16-point deficit and he was still there as they finally found the lead in the fourth.
The 20-year-old was afforded such an opportunity to excel after Kendrick Perkins - ostensibly the Thunder's starting centre - fell into early foul trouble. Perkins picked up three fouls in the opening five minutes and, called on by coach Scott Brooks, Adams seized the resulting chance with both hands.
When he was drafted to OKC last year, Adams wouldn't have dreamed about playing 40 minutes in a series-winning match in the post-season. But that's exactly what happened yesterday in Los Angeles. The OKC brains trust who picked Adams in the draft last year will be quietly patting one another on the back.
Great players step up in the most important matches, and at the most important moments in matches. Steven Adams showed yesterday that even in his rookie NBA season, he has a big game temperament. When his rookie contract comes up for negotiation at the end of next season, he will command serious dollars.
The Herald also has a great background piece on Adams the young man. It's an excellent read for a Saturday morning, and includes this photo of a young Steve Adams with his late father Sid.
The wayward young lad from Rotorua has come a long way. But the young man in Oklahoma City has the basketball world at his feet; bring on the Spurs!
