A regular blocking attempt turned night mare for the Houston Rockets fans. Center Steven Adams exited the game in the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Pelicans, leaving fans wondering if it was a serious injury. Here’s what happened.

Why Did Steven Adams Leave the Game? What Injury Did He Suffer?

With 9:57 remaining, the Rockets were in control with a 94-86 score at the Toyota Center. Pelicans forward Zion Williamson drove the ball to the basket with two Rockets centers waiting for him in the paint. After sidestepping Alperen Sengun, Zion’s shot was blocked by Adams. But while coming down, the veteran big landed awkwardly and immediately grabbed his leg, rolling to the sidelines.

He was unable to put any weight on his left ankle and even tried to walk it off, but wasn’t able to. Teammate Jeff Green and Rockets security helped Steven Adams to the locker room, as the New Zealander couldn’t put any weight on his left leg. As important as Adams is to this team, having him go down with an injury is not ideal.

He did not return to the game, and coach Ime Udoka told the media that Steven Adams “had an ankle sprain. Quite a bit of swelling. But nothing broken.” This was concerning since he had suffered an ankle injury. The 32-year-old missed four of five games because of it, before injuring his right ankle against the Pacers on Dec 29. That injury setback meant Adams missed two more games and did not feature in the back-to-back matchup against the Timberwolves recently.

How Did Steven Adams Perform Before Leaving?

Starting the game alongside Sengun, Adams did his job of dominating the glass. In his 16 first-half minutes as a starter, he dominated the glass with 9 rebounds with a plus/minus of +13. With him on the court, the 32-year-old gave the Rockets a 64% to 36% rebounding% advantage in the first half. With him on the bench, it was 46% to 54% to NOP.

His night ended prematurely with 5 points, 10 rebounds, 5 of which were offensive rebounds, and 2 assists. This season, he’s averaging 5.9 points with 8.6 rebounds (4.5 offensive), on a career-low 50% from the field.

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How Did the Houston Rockets Adjust Without Adams?

The Rockets are now used to their multiple stars being out. Sengun, Eason, and Steven Adams all suffered right ankle sprains during the previous two-and-a-half weeks. So adjusting during the Pelicans game wasn’t tough for Udoka. Dorian Finney-Smith entered the game for Steven Adams and left his mark.

The former Lakers star had 3,5 and 3 minutes in the first three quarters but couldn’t get himself on the scoreboard. After replacing Adams in the final quarter,  Finney-Smith scored all of his 8 points, with 3-5 from FG, and secured an offensive rebound as well. This season, DFS has yet to start a game, but expect him to be in the rotation going forward. With Tari Eason also dealing with ankle problems, we could see Josh Okogie get the starting role, as he did against the Timberwolves.