Steven Adams sinks half-court shot in OKC Thunder win

Pitt product Steven Adams and the Oklahoma City Thunder took on the New Orleans Pelicans at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Thursday, and they notched a 123-118 win. Adams posted a double-double and came up with the play of the game, as he sunk a one-handed half-court shot just before the halftime buzzer.

The shot came after Thunder point guard Chris Paul tossed Adams the ball with two seconds left in the first half. With limited options, Adams threw up a prayer of a shot from behind the Thunder logo, and when it went through, he celebrated with a shimmy. As it turns out, it was the first successful three-point shot of Adams' seven-year NBA career.

"We had a half-court shot competition yesterday, and I ended up winning that one because I did exactly the same shot," Adams said in an interview after the game. "I don't know. It just managed to go in today. As you can tell, I was hyped. After the shot went in, I kind of blacked out. ... I like shooting those types of shots from behind half-court. ... For some reason, I'm better at shooting with one hand than two hands."

Entering the Thursday night game, Adams had gone 0-for-11 dating back to his NBA debut in 2013. However, Adams’ three-pointer drought dated back even further, as he did not attempt any three-point shots in the 2012-13 season, which was his lone campaign at Pitt. So his last triple came in 2012 or earlier.

Adams finished the contest with 11 points, three blocks, two assists and a game-high 11 rebounds. It was his 18th double-double of the season and his second straight, as he also logged 10 points and 10 rebounds against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday.