Pacers top Thunder, 103-98

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Danny Granger scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to help the Indiana Pacers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 103-98 on Friday night for their fourth straight win.

Roy Hibbert had 21 points and 12 rebounds, David West scored 14 points and Paul George added eight points and a career-high 16 rebounds for the Pacers (34-21), who have won eight of 10.

Kevin Durant scored 44 points for the Thunder, the most against the Pacers this season. Russell Westbrook had 21 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, but he shot 7 for 23 from the field as the Thunder lost their third consecutive game.

The Thunder, second in the league with 103 points per game, have scored fewer than 100 in four straight games.

Oklahoma City cut a 24-point deficit to 10 in the fourth quarter, but a step-back jumper by Granger with Durant in his face gave Indiana a 94-82 lead with 3:21 remaining and forced the Thunder to call a timeout.

Oklahoma kept rallying as Durant was fouled on a dunk, and he made the free throw to cut Indiana's lead to 96-91 with 1:08 to go.

Kendrick Perkins trimmed Indiana's lead to 97-93 on a reverse layup with 37.9 seconds left, but Darren Collison's jumper from near the free-throw line with 16.8 seconds remaining and time running out on the shot clock gave Indiana a cushion.

Westbrook banked in a 3-pointer with 5.5 seconds left to cut Indiana's lead to 101-98. Granger made two free throws with 4.7 seconds left to seal the Pacers' win.

Hibbert's tip for a long putback gave the Pacers a 56-41 lead late in the second quarter, prompting Indiana's crowd to stand for the final 15 seconds of the half. The Pacers shot 54 percent before the break and held Oklahoma City to 42 percent. Hibbert had 16 points in the first half, matching Durant. Westbrook scored three points on 1-for-8 shooting before the break.

Indiana continued its strong shooting early in the second half. A bucket by West gave Indiana a 64-43 lead. Three mid-range jumpers by Granger fueled a stretch that pushed the advantage to 72-48 and forced Oklahoma City to call timeout. The Thunder missed five of six shots to start the second half.

The Thunder chipped away late in the third quarter, trimming Indiana's lead to 75-61 at the end of the period. The Pacers shot 7 for 26 from the field in the third quarter.

___

NOTES: Indiana shot 55 percent in the first quarter to lead 32-20. ... Hibbert had four blocks in the first quarter and Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka had three. Ibaka finished with seven blocks. ... Indiana went on a 12-0 run to take a 35-20 lead early in the second quarter. ... George had 10 rebounds in the first half, matching his career high. ... Indiana had a sellout crowd of 18,165 for just the fifth time this season. ... Oklahoma City won the previous meeting this season, 113-89 at home.