Steven Adams and his New Orleans Pelicans ended up on the wrong end of a 111-110 decision when they locked horns with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night, but it certainly wasn’t due to any shortcoming on the part of everyone’s favorite New Zealander.
For the first time in his career, against his former team, Adams recorded a triple-double. Having long been an excellent passer, Adams’ skills were on full display, as he ended the night with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
If you had any doubts as to whether there was any extra motivation on his part due to the fact that he was squaring off against his former team, just consider that his previous career-high for assists in a game was six.
After the contest, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault joked about the Thunder failing to take advantage of Adams’ skills as a potential point guard while he was with the club.
“We know he can quarterback,” Daigneault said of Adams.
“I thought that was one thing, in all seriousness, that he showed last year, is that when you play through him, he can glue your offense together. I thought that was on display tonight.”
Adams found his teammates on cuts time and time again, but fortunately for the Thunder, a few critical fouls committed by New Orleans helped them pull out a one-point win on Wednesday.
For that reason, it was probably easier for the head coach to be complimentary of one of the franchise’s former players.
“We made a couple of mistakes on cuts and he really made us pay for it. That’s what makes him a really good player, he not only does the dirty work, but he can quarterback a little bit, too… He’s really rounded his game out well, all the time.”
Through eight games with the Pelicans — surprise, surprise — Adams is averaging 10 points and nine rebounds per contest. Those numbers are identical to what he gave the Thunder last season.
For the first time in his career, though, he managed to record as many as 10 assists and recorded a triple-double.
Considering the fact that he was playing against his former ‘mates, it was impossible for the Thunder to not take notice.
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