Steven Adams' Arm Held by Fan During Final Possession of Thunder vs. Spurs
The Oklahoma City Thunder tied their postseason series against the San Antonio Spurs at one game apiece Monday with a 98-97 victory at the AT&T Center, but they had to survive a dramatic closing sequence to earn the win.
During the last play, a fan grabbed Thunder big man Steven Adams' arm as the Spurs attempted to score what could have been the game-winning basket:
That came after Patty Mills missed a three-pointer that would have put San Antonio ahead. The wild sequence started with a turnover on an inbounds pass and what could have been multiple fouls, and the clock expired as the two teams fought for the ball:
It is natural to wonder what would have happened if the Spurs had grabbed the rebound and scored in those final seconds while the fan was holding Adams' arm. If San Antonio had scored the game-winning basket, the Thunder would have had grounds to lodge a complaint.
Adams posted a double-double Monday with 12 points to go along with 17 rebounds, and he deserves plenty of credit for challenging Mills in the corner on the final look. If he didn't get there, the guard would have been wide-open and could have put Oklahoma City in a daunting 2-0 hole against the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
Adams also saved his team from hearing more about how it cannot finish in the fourth quarter—at least for the time being. The Thunder blew 15 fourth-quarter leads this season, per Fran Blinebury of NBA.com, and they almost lost Monday after holding a four-point advantage with less than 15 seconds left.
Oklahoma City fouled LaMarcus Aldridge on a three-pointer with 13.5 seconds remaining, and the big man trimmed the deficit to one by connecting on all three of his free throws.
In addition to Adams' strong performance, the Thunder got 29 points, 10 assists and seven boards from Russell Westbrook. Kevin Durant added 28 points, seven rebounds and four assists as Oklahoma City stole home-court advantage in the series.
Game 3 will take place Friday in Oklahoma City. The Spurs were 27-14 on the road during the regular season and are 2-0 away from San Antonio in the playoffs. It will take a strong effort from the Thunder to protect the home-court advantage they earned Monday, and they will need Adams to again provide formidable defense and patrol the glass.
At least he probably won't have to worry about his own fans grabbing his arm during games in Oklahoma City.
