It has been well documented how bad the Indiana Pacers (55-26) have been struggling of late. The Pacers have seemingly lost their edge and identity down the stretch of the regular season. Yet Indiana through it all has shown signs of resiliency, and Indy's 102-98 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder (58-22) is really a testament to how mentally tough this team really is.
The Pacers could have folded in the fourth quarter after the Thunder overcame an 11 point deficit to tie the game at 89, but Indiana dug in and hit some big shots down the stretch. Lance Stepehenson's three-ball with 34.2 second left on the clock was virtually the dagger that sealed the deal for the Pacers. Stephenson has been big for the Pacers all season, and came up huge Sunday afternoon by finishing with his fifth triple-double of the season dropping 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists on the ledger. Paul George seemed to find his stroke hitting 3 of 6 treys in scoring his 20 points for the game. David West was efficient in this game hitting 9 of 11 shots for 21 points, and C.J, Watson came through with a big game off the bench finishing with a season high 20 points. This was just a solid all around effort on the part of the Indiana Pacers, especially on the offensive end where Indy shot 52.8% for the game
Oklahoma City did a great job of trying to rally in the fourth quarter to steal a win, but they ran out of gas and time. Kevin Durant did have another big game furthering his MVP campaign hitting for 38 points on 13 of 27 from the floor. Russell Westbrook is slowly getting his legs under himself as he finished with 21 points for the game. But overall the Pacers defense held the Thunder in check with OKC shooting 42.9% from the floor.
The Pacers are now one win away from locking up the Eastern Conference regular season crown and No.1 overall seed in the East. If the Pacers finish the deal in owning the top seed in the East, it would be quite the accomplishment considering all the adversity that they have put themselves through in the last month of play. The Pacers will look to grab the top seed Wednesday when they play the Orlando Magic in Orlando.
Meanwhile the Thunder still have not closed the door on owning the No. 2 spot in the West just yet. The Clippers are still lurking around , but all it will take for OKC to seal the deal on the No. 2 seed is to win out in the remainder of their schedule. The Thunder will take on the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night to inch closer to completing that task.