NBA: Steven Adams floors Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard with screen

Steven Adams battles for a rebound against the Portland Trail Blazers. Photo / Getty

Steven Adams has come in for some criticism from a basketball legend after an alteraction during the NBA playoffs.

Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard took exception to a hard blindside screen set by the Oklahoma City Thunder's Kiwi centre in game two of their NBA playoff series, which sent Lillard to the floor as he retreated on defence.

Adams shrugged off the altercation, calling the interaction "a weird situation".

"It might have hurt, but it's not my problem really," Adams said of the play after the game. "That's on his big man to let him know there's a screen. He got upset with me, but he should have gotten upset with his big. That's all I was telling him and he knew I was right.

"I wasn't doing anything illegal or anything, so he's got to talk to his big about that."

However, NBA legend Charles Barkley sounded off on the situation in the aftermatch broadcast, calling it "a good play, but a bush league play".

The commentator also argued that Portland should have retaliated to Adams' screen, by in turn setting a hard screen on a Thunder player.

Charles Barkley saying Steve Adams’ screen on Dame deserves retaliation pic.twitter.com/uAUhH4cUCx

— Sheldon Minor (@sheldonminor) April 17, 2019

Steven Adams just dumptrucked Lillard with a screen.

— Royce Young (@royceyoung) April 17, 2019

Nobody. And I mean nobody, in todays current NBA is trying to fight steven Adams

— Scott Hale (@Halestormsports) April 17, 2019

While Adams might have won the battle, Lillard won the war as he led the Blazers to a 114-94 win to give the Portland side a 2-0 lead in the best of seven series.