National Basketball Association
Oklahoma City 100, Indiana 95
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Officials: #24 Mike Callahan, #56 Mark Ayotte, #29 Mark Lindsay
Attendance: 17923

INDIANAPOLIS -- On a night when Oklahoma City's big three of Paul George, Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook all struggled from the field, the Thunder's Steven Adams was on target.

"He was great," Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. "He kept fighting for offensive rebounds and kept so many plays alive. He rim-protected and rolled to the basket. Those guys have confidence throwing the ball to him. Steven has gotten better finishing, but he's also gotten better at passing the ball out."

The 7-foot Adams scored 23 points on 11-of-16 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds, including nine on the offensive glass, to lead the Thunder to a 100-95 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night.

"They were just falling my way," Adams said of his offensive rebounds.

Oklahoma City (13-14) registered its first two-game season sweep of Indiana since 2012-13 and snapped the Pacers' four-game winning streak.

In his return to Indiana, George was booed loudly when introduced and every time he touched the ball throughout the game.

George, a four-time All-Star, was traded to Oklahoma City in exchange for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis after he told the Pacers he didn't plan to re-sign with the team following the 2017-18 season. George was limited to 12 points on 3-of-14 shooting Wednesday.

"He had incredible poise," Donovan said. "He didn't shoot well, but I thought his defense was critical."

George knew the environment would be tough.

"I'm glad the circus is over with, now everybody can move on," George said. "I'm not sure what they (fans) wanted me to be, a circus act or some kind of show. I played my hardest. I played everything. I thought I took what the city is about and that's being blue collar."

Despite shooting 3 of 17 from the field, Thunder guard Russell Westbrook delivered his ninth triple-double of the season with 10 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists.

"Russell was terrific in the first half," Donovan said. "He only took five shots and had nine assists."

Anthony scored 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting. The Thunder shot 36 of 88 from the floor, 40.9 percent.

Oladipo led the Pacers (16-12) with 19 points, but had a rough shooting night, 9 of 26 from the floor.

"I know he did a good job on me defensively," Oladipo said of matching up with George. "It was the first time I've had a defender like that guard me since I've been on this team. They were just trying to deny me."

Bojan Bogdanovic added 15 for the Pacers and Darren Collison 14. Thaddeus Young had 11 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals. The Pacers shot 40 of 89 on field-goal attempts, 44.9 percent.

Oladipo's driving layup sliced Indiana's deficit to 96-94 with 1:07 to go. Following a miss by Carmelo Anthony, Young was first ruled for an offensive foul but it was overturned. Young then hit the first for two throws to make it 96-95. A put-back by Alex Abrines gave the Thunder a 98-95 edge with 15.2 seconds remaining.

"I was just in the right place and the right time," said Abrines, who had 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

George came up with a steal and hit both free throws to make it 100-95 with 10.7 seconds left.

The Thunder held a 52-42 rebounding edge

"We've got to get stronger," Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. "We've got to get more physical. I thought they really got into us defensively."

McMillian said the Thunder did a much better job of drawing fouls as well. The Thunder were 15 of 24 from the foul line while the Pacers were 4 of 6.

The Thunder sank 12 of 23 shots in the second quarter to produce a 29-19 edge in the period en route to a 51-46 lead at halftime. The Pacers regained the lead at the start of the third quarter before ending up trailing 73-69 entering the fourth.

Lance Stephenson sank a jumper at the first quarter buzzer to give the Pacers a 27-22 lead.

NOTES: Pacers G Darren Collison returned to the starting lineup after missing the Sunday game with a sore left knee. ... Pacers F Thaddeus Young has scored in double figures in 23 games, including seven straight and 12 of 13. ... NBA commissioner Adam Silver attended the game. Silver announced earlier in the day that Indianapolis will host 2021 All-Star Game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. ... Entering the game, Oklahoma City led the NBA in steals per game (10.0) and opponents' turnovers per game (18.0). The Thunder had 10 steals and the Pacers 13 turnovers on Wednesday night.
Top Game Performances
 
Oklahoma City   Indiana
Steven Adams 23 Scoring Victor Oladipo 19
Russell Westbrook 12 Assists Victor Oladipo 6
Russell Westbrook 17 Rebounds Thaddeus Young 10
Paul George 4 Free Throws Made Bojan Bogdanovic 2
Paul George 3 Steals Thaddeus Young 7
Jerami Grant 3 Blocks Myles Turner 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Oklahoma City 100 40.9 13-29 15-24 26 52 6 10 14
Indiana 95 44.9 11-31 4-6 18 42 7 11 14
Upcoming Games
  • Indiana will play their next game at home against Detroit. The Pacers have a W/L % of .562 after a win and .583 after a loss.
  • Oklahoma City will play their next game on the road against Philadelphia. The Thunder have a W/L % of .462 after a win and .500 after a loss.
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