Basketball: Steven Adams and Oklahoma City Thunder back in NBA playoff series

Steven Adams helped Oklahoma beat Portland. Photo / Getty Images

Steven Adams and the Oklahoma City Thunder earned a crucial victory in their NBA playoff series, beating Portland 120-108 to trail 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

OKC can level the series in game four at home but Adams said one win was "nothing that much to celebrate about just yet".

Adams, who had 10 points and seven rebounds, said the Thunder's defensive effort was key yesterday.

"The guards did a really good job of just getting into them and influencing them one way," said Adams. "That makes the bigs' job way easier. That was the difference from game one and two to now."

The other change was a better performance from Russell Westbrook, who called his play in game two "unacceptable".

It was more than acceptable in game three: he had 33 points and 11 assists.

Thunder forward Paul George called Westbrook a man of his word.

"He led, we got behind him and he put us on his back," George said.

George scored 22 points, Jerami Grant 18 and Dennis Schroder 17 for the Thunder. They host game four on Monday afternoon.

In Indianapolis, the Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers 104-96 for a 3-0 lead in their first-round series.

In Orlando, Toronto Raptors held off Orlando Magic 98-93 to take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference series.

- AP