Thunder video: Steven Adams receives blow to the head, leaves court

Oklahoma City Thunder's Steven Adams is one of the toughest players in the NBA. But this doesn't mean that he isn't susceptible to a hard elbow to the head.

Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams is one of the toughest players in the NBA. In fact, the Aussie big man was voted by GMs as the toughest player in the league prior to the start of the season. However, this doesn't mean that he isn't susceptible to a hard elbow to the head.

Adams was on the receiving end of one from Los Angeles Lakers rookie Mo Wagner, as the two were jockeying for position for a rebound.

Watch below:

Mo Wagner getting tangled up with Steven Adams the most predictable outcome possible #lakeshow #Thunder pic.twitter.com/HwbM5tvNvU

— 🚫 No Baseball Podcast (@nobaseballpod) April 3, 2019

According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Adams apparently couldn't hear for a while after Wagner inadvertently hit him at the back of his ear. He stayed in the game to shoot freethrows, but went to the locker room immediately after.

Steven Adams is snapping his hand by his ear drum and telling the Thunder trainer, "I can't hear" after taking that inadvertent shot to the head by Moe Wagner.

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 3, 2019

Good news is that Adams did start the second half and did not appear to be shaken up throughout the contest.

Adams went on to play 33 minutes, and finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, and five blocks.

But the story of the night was Russell Westbrook's historic triple double. The 2017 MVP notched an insane 20 points, 20 rebounds, and 21 assists, becoming only the second player after Wilt Chamberlain to get a 20-20-20 triple-double. Westbrook dedicated his performance to the late Nipsey Hustle.

The win gave the Thunder their 45th win of the season. Despite already securing their spot in the playoffs, OKC is still looking to move up in the standings. They are currently 8th in the West, but are tied record-wise with the San Antonio Spurs. Both teams are two games behind the sixth seeded L.A. Clippers.

OKC would ideally want to avoid the eighth spot, as they would be matched up with the defending champion Golden State Warriors in the first round. This almost ensures an early exit in the playoffs, which would be very disappointing for a team looking to avenge last year's playoff disappointment.