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Durant, Thunder beat Pacers for eighth straight win

Dec 10, 2012 - 5:37 AM Oklahoma City, OK (Sports Network) - Kevin Durant scored a game-high 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds as the Oklahoma City Thunder ran their winning streak to eight in a row with a 104-93 triumph over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Kevin Martin netted 24 points on 7-of-12 from the floor and Russell Westbrook donated 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Thunder. Serge Ibaka contributed 12 points and nine boards.

"I thought we did a good job of not playing in a crowd and playing under control," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "We just made simple basketball plays, that's when we're really good."

David West hit 10-of-16 from the field for a team-high 21 points to go with nine rebounds, while Paul George gave 17 points and eight boards for the Pacers, who have lost two straight.

It was a close game early on, as a fadeaway jumper by West gave the Pacers a 14-9 advantage with 5:51 to play in the opening frame.

West then hit a jump shot to give the visitors a 16-11 lead, but the Thunder responded with a 14-6 push and headed into the second quarter with a 25-22 lead.

Oklahoma City opened the second stanza with a 20-10 run which allowed it to take a seemingly comfortable 45-32 lead with 5:49 to play before the half.

But, the Pacers responded with 13 straight points, including seven by George during the run, to tie the game at 45-45 with 3:14 to go.

It was a one-possession game the rest of the half as Lance Stephenson canned a deep trey with 20.1 seconds on the clock and the Pacers went into the locker room trailing, 57-56.

It remained a two-possession contest for most of the third quarter, until the Thunder gave themselves a bit of breathing room late in the frame.

George Hill buried a deep trey with 4:05 on the clock, pulling the Pacers within 75-72, but the home side closed the quarter on a 9-2 surge to take a 10-point lead into the final quarter.

A deep triple by George with 5:26 to play cut the Pacers deficit to 94-91, but the Thunder closed out the contest with a 10-2 burst en route to the victory.

"We have to match the other team's energy," George said. "If we're not going to do that, we have to play our game, and tonight I think we were caught in between both."

Game Notes

Eight straight wins matches the Thunder's longest winning streak since they prevailed in nine consecutive contests from Jan. 29-Feb. 21, 2010 ... Indiana has lost seven of its last eight as the road team in this series ... Oklahoma City shot 48.7 percent from the floor, while the Pacers shot 46.3 percent.