The Oklahoma City Thunder got the better of Steven Adams and the New Orleans Pelicans this afternoon, but the Kiwi big man had a silver lining in the form of a career-first achievement.

Adams finished the 111-110 loss with a triple-double, scoring 10 points to go with 11 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. Coming into the game, Adams' career high in assists was six – a number he set while playing for Oklahoma City last season.

It's the latest in a string of strong performances for Adams since joining the Pelicans this year.

While the season is only eight games deep, Adams has made his mark on his new team across the floor, shooting at a career-best 65 per cent success rate from the field.

Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy said it wasn't hard to see how much of a difference the 27-year-old is making on the team.

"If you look at our on-court and off-court numbers and our plus-minus, he's been carrying us all year," Van Gundy said.

"If Steven's on the court we're a really good team; if Steven's off the court, we're not. It's because the guy plays [hard] every possession, and that's what we need to get everybody doing."