Thunder center Steven Adams available for Game 4 against Rockets

Steven Adam’s injury in Game 3 was not serious enough to hold him out Game 4 in the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets series.

Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams will not have to miss time after injuring his right knee late in Game 3 against the Houston Rockets.

Adams is available for the Thunder in Game 4 on Monday, according to Daily Thunder’s Brandon Rahbar.

Head coach Billy Donovan announced Adams’ availability during the pregame Zoom press conference.

Late in the fourth quarter on Saturday, Steven Adams suffered a right knee contusion. He was subbed out for trainers to review the injury and was ruled available to play overtime, but Donovan elected not to put him back in the lineup as the group on the court was steamrolling the Rockets.

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Adams has had positives and negatives for the Thunder this series. While his post presence has helped, particularly in grabbing offense rebounds, he has been taken advantage of in the pick-and-roll game when he’s on defense and has been unable to dominate smaller defenders on offense.

In three games, Adams is averaging 10.3 points and 12.0 rebounds, 3.0 of which are on the offensive glass. He has attempted a total of 11 shots over the last two games and only has one block this series.

Deonte Burton is the only Thunder player unavailable. He is out with illness, according to Rahbar.

Rockets guard Russell Westbrook will miss another game due to his quad injury.

Game 4 begins at 3 p.m. Oklahoma City will try to even up the series at two games apiece and avoid falling behind 3-1 to Houston.

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