As the Portland Trail Blazers were putting the finishing touches on a 114-94 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Steven Adams and Damian Lillard were involved in a minor argument late Tuesday night.
With just over four minutes left in the game, Russell Westbrook was taking the ball up the court. As Westbrook approached the half-court line, Adams laid down a hard screen on Lillard that caught him off guard.
Once play stopped after a foul on the next possession down the floor, Lillard approached Adams and exchanged some words with the Thunder center as the two talked for a few moments.
Adams has been known as one of the strongest players in the NBA and sets some of the hardest screens for his teammates. Jimmy Butler once infamously marveled at his strength.
Afterward, Adams explained his side of the story.
That was just a weird situation. It might’ve hurt but it’s not my problem, really. It’s his big man to let him know there’s a screen there but he got upset with me. He should be getting upset with his big and that’s what I was telling him. He knew I was right as well. I wasn’t doing anything illegal or anything. He’s gotta talk to his big about that.
As Adams mentioned, it didn’t appear to be an illegal screen as he was set in place to help free Westbrook into the lane. Lillard likely took exception to it since it caught him by surprise and the game was well decided by that point.
We’ll see if Portland has anything to say about it in Game 3 Friday night.
