National Basketball Association
Oklahoma City 115, Indiana 111
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 19, 2016
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Officials: #14 Ed Malloy, #22 Bill Spooner, #58 Josh Tiven
Attendance: 18165

INDIANAPOLIS -- When Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combine for 47 points, 24 rebounds and 22 assists, which they did Saturday night, the odds of beating the Oklahoma City Thunder are extremely small.

When the Thunder non-starters also combine to outscore the opponent's bench 45-14, the odds are eliminated.

Durant had 33 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, including three free throws during the final 2.8 seconds, and Oklahoma City defeated the Indiana Pacers 115-111 in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The Pacers got 45 points from Paul George -- his highest-scoring game in Bankers Life Fieldhouse -- but the forward missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with seven seconds to play and the Thunder closed it out at the free-throw line.

Oklahoma City (48-22) also got a triple-double from Russell Westbrook, who had 14 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists.

The Thunder shot 52.5 percent from the field (42 of 80) and dominated the glass (45-34).

Enes Kanter had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Randy Foye scored 12 points and Steven Adams had 11 points for the Thunder.

"Enes gave us great minutes, but I thought everybody -- our starters through our reserves -- played very well," Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan said. "Our whole team did a good job. We put Kevin and Russell in some tough spots late in the shot clock, but that's my fault. The guys did everything I asked them to do. We were much better against Indiana tonight than we were the last time."

Indiana, which has lost two in a row at home, rallied late in the game last month in Oklahoma City and beat the Thunder.

"Enes played great for us," Durant said. "His two putbacks in the fourth quarter were huge for us. Tonight, we just kept grinding and trusted the process. It feels like we are getting into a groove now."

Westbrook said Kanter and the bench allowed the team to win when Westbrook made only 4 of 17 shots.

"Enes was big for us," Westbrook said. "He played tough defense and got some big baskets. Can I say it right now? He is the Sixth Man of the Year. Down the stretch, we executed well, especially defensively."

George Hill added 20 points and nine assists for Indiana (36-33), which is only 9-12 when George scores 30 or more points. Monta Ellis and Ian Mahinmi each scored 11 for the Pacers and Myles Turner had 10.

"We did a great job to limit that team to nine offensive rebounds," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "In our loss Thursday to Toronto, we defended well, but we couldn't score. Tonight was just the opposite. We scored well, but we didn't defend. Paul had a great night, but so did Durant and Westbrook and some of their guys off the bench. We have to get better."

The Pacers took a brief 96-92 lead in the fourth quarter before the Thunder countered with a 14-2 burst, including seven from Durant, to lead 106-98 with 5:13 remaining.

George scored 19 third-quarter points, helping Indiana cut a 10-point halftime deficit to 88-87 with 12 minutes remaining.

"My shot was falling tonight," said George, who made 14 of 29 field-goal attempts after making only 7 of 24 in Thursday's loss to Toronto. "Against Durant, you have to contest his shot. You really have to tighten up on him. To his credit, he shot the ball confidently."

The Pacers took an 87-85 lead, but Durant's 3-pointer with seconds to play in the quarter gave the Thunder the advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

After trailing 13-2, Oklahoma City created a 21-point swing in the remainder of the first half, seizing a 64-54 lead through 24 minutes.

The Thunder, who outscored the Pacers 37-26 during the second quarter, shot 58.5 percent from the field during the opening half (24 of 41) and outscored Indiana 12-8 from the free-throw line in addition to outrebounding the Pacers 22-17.

Durant had 14 first-half points and Adams and Kanter added nine each.

George had 16 for the Pacers and Hill added 14.

Indiana shot 48.8 percent from the field (21 of 43) during the opening two quarters.

NOTES: Indiana was without PG Ty Lawson (sprained left foot). ... Pacers C Ian Mahinmi returned to the starting lineup after missing Thursday night's overtime loss to Toronto with a sore lower back. ... The Thunder are coming off Friday night's 111-97 victory at Philadelphia, getting 26 points from Kevin Durant and 15 rebounds and 10 assists from Russell Westbrook. ... Oklahoma City has the third-best record in the Western Conference, two games ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers in the loss column. ... The Thunder lead the NBA in rebounding with 48.6 per game. ... Oklahoma City is second in scoring at 110.1 per game and third in field-goal percentage (47.6). ... Indiana is fourth in opponents' 3-point field goal percentage (33.3) and fourth in steals (9.0). ... The Pacers defeated the Thunder 101-98 on Feb. 19 in Oklahoma City.
Top Game Performances
 
Oklahoma City   Indiana
Kevin Durant 33 Scoring Paul George 45
Russell Westbrook 14 Assists George Hill 9
Kevin Durant 13 Rebounds Myles Turner 8
Kevin Durant 8 Free Throws Made Paul George 13
Steven Adams 3 Steals Monta Ellis 3
Kevin Durant 1 Blocks Myles Turner 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Oklahoma City 115 52.5 10-28 21-26 26 45 4 8 18
Indiana 111 48.2 9-22 22-30 28 34 2 11 12
Upcoming Games
  • Indiana will play their next game at home against Philadelphia. The Pacers have a W/L % of .486 after a win and .562 after a loss.
  • Oklahoma City will play their next game at home against Houston. The Thunder have a W/L % of .708 after a win and .636 after a loss.