Pacers at Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are very tough to beat when Russell Westbrook is getting help scoring, and the last two games saw him embrace a second offensive threat in the backcourt. Westbrook and Victor Oladipo will try to lead the Thunder to a third straight win when they host the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
Oladipo complimented Westbrook's 30 points with a season-high 29 in a 105-103 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday and nearly equaled the production on Friday with 26 points while Westbrook was posting a 30-point triple-double. “He’s taking efficient shots," Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan told reporters of Oladipo. "He has a better understanding of where his shots are coming from. He’s growing inside of how we’re trying to play." The Pacers are hoping to have their top scorer healthy on Sunday after star forward Paul George was forced to sit out Friday's home loss to the Phoenix Suns with an ankle injury. C.J. Miles, who started in George's place against the Suns, left with three minutes remaining in the first quarter with a knee injury and did not return.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Indiana, FSN Oklahoma
ABOUT THE PACERS (6-7): George and Miles being out means a lack of wing scoring for Indiana, which gave seldom-used Glenn Robinson a chance to earn extra playing time in that slot on Friday. Robinson, who totaled three minutes in the previous two games, logged 25 minutes and contributed nine points on 4-of-6 shooting. The Pacers also gave a longer look to rookie small forward Georges Niang, who delivered two points, two rebounds and two assists in a season-high 17 minutes.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (8-5): Oklahoma City shot 55.1 percent from the floor and placed six scorers in double figures on Friday against Brooklyn in the easy win. "Spacing is great," Westbrook told reporters. "We did a good job of making sure guys were in the right spot and I tried to pick my spots wisely." Westbrook recorded 30 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his fourth triple-double of the season and is shooting 56.6 percent from the field over the last four games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Thunder had three Cs score in double figures on Friday with Steven Adams (15), Joffrey Lauvergne (13) and Enes Kanter (13).
2. Pacers G Rodney Stuckey (hamstring) returned from a 10-game absence on Friday and managed two points in 13 minutes.
3. The teams split the two-game series in each of the last three seasons, with Indiana winning its last trip to Oklahoma City on Feb. 19, 2016.