Pacers’ third-quarter collapse leads to 107-99 loss to Thunder

OKLAHOMA CITY — Paul George scored 31 points against his former team, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers 107-99 on Wednesday night.

Steven Adams had 25 points and 12 rebounds and Russell Westbrook added 17 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds for his 29th triple-double of the season.

The Thunder went on a 24-0 run in the third quarter and never trailed again. It was a critical win for Oklahoma City, which had lost five of six.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 28 points and Domantas Sabonis added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers.

Indiana led 54-45 at the break behind 14 points from Bogdanovic. Adams scored 14 points in the first half for the Thunder.

The Thunder closed the gap early in the third quarter. A floater by Adams cut Indiana’s lead to one, then a 3-pointer by Jerami Grant finally put the Thunder ahead midway through the period. George and Westbrook followed with 3s to put Oklahoma City up 66-58. In all, it was a 24-0 run that put the Thunder ahead 72-58.

Westbrook clinched his triple-double on a lob to Ferguson for a dunk that put the Thunder up 88-79.

George made a high floater and was fouled. He made the free throw with just under four minutes remaining to put the Thunder up 10.

The Pacers made one last surge, but a layup and a 3-pointer by Grant kept the Pacers at a safe distance heading into the final minute.

TIP-INS

Pacers: G Darren Collison returned to the starting lineup after missing three games with a right quad contusion. … G Wesley Matthews was called for a technical in the third quarter. … Bogdanovic scored 35 points in his previous game, a win over Denver on Sunday.

Thunder: Shot just 39 percent in the first half. … Held the Pacers to 8-for-25 shooting in the third quarter. … Westbrook has 133 triple-doubles in his career.

UP NEXT

Pacers: At the Boston Celtics on Friday.

Thunder: Host the Denver Nuggets on Friday.