Thunder let one slip against the Pacers, 101-98

That was the kind of game that looked like a win right up until Monta Ellis hit that 3 with 19 seconds left to put the Pacers up 98-95.

The Thunder looked, I wouldn’t say dominant, but better than the Pacers basically throughout. Indiana hung around, never letting the lead build to anything more than nine or 10. And when the Thunder opened the fourth with both Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant on the bench, the Pacers outscored OKC 8-2 to cut a nine-point deficit to three before Westbrook was back on the floor.

The other part: They led 93-86 with 2:47 left after a Durant jumper and had every look that they’d be shortly putting this one to bed. George Hill made a 3. Serge Ibaka got blocked, then traveled. Monta Ellis hit a 3. Steven Adams got stripped. The Thunder actually got a stop, coming up with the ball after a wild scramble. Westbrook took and made his first two free throws of the night.

Then Myles Turner, who had attempted only two career 3s to that point, hit his first deep ball of his career from the corner to tie the game. The Thunder’s ensuing possession wasn’t ideal, with Durant launching an early 25-footer. Ellis shook free and hit a 3 the other way to put the Pacers up 98-95, Westbrook’s layup attempt — off a nicely designed set, mind you — crept off the rim. Paul George split free throws, Durant hit a 3 to keep it interesting, and after two more George free throws Westbrook’s long range running 3 fell short and it was game over.

So: The Pacers hit four 3s in the final 2:28 to erase the lead and steal the game. Tell me if that story sounds familiar. The Thunder led for all but 67 seconds of the second half. They had it, and then they didn’t.

“Those four 3s just broke our back,” Durant said. “Breakdowns gave up 3s, they broke our back. That’s the game.”

The Thunder did a lot of good in this one against a solid Pacers team, but this is the kind of game they’re supposed to win. Sure, give me your first-game-after-the-break excuse. But that doesn’t jive with them blowing a seven-point lead with under three minutes left. Durant missed some shots and they didn’t hit anything from 3 (5-26), but overall, they played well. Except for two minutes.

“The defensive lapses toward the end of the game, we can’t have those,” Westbrook said. “Second half of the season, man, it’s getting close to playoff time. We’ve got to put more pressure on ourselves to be better.”

That’s the truth. And while the Thunder have gotten very good at saying it, it’s another thing doing it, for whatever reason. The schedule is unforgiving from here on out, and giving away games like this could end up painful down the line.

NOTES:

Westbrook set a new career-high with 18 assists. And had 23 points. He was awesome in this one.

My gameplan for this one was all set up to be a nifty angle on how the last time the Thunder played the Pacers, Westbrook scored a career-high 54 on 45 shots and OKC lost a tough game without Durant, and now, here he was dishing out a career-high in assists. Look at the growth! But welp.

Durant very frustrated with Ibaka early in the game, mainly because he didn’t like some of the shots Ibaka was taking. Durant wanted him to move it if it wasn’t there. And then that continued into the second half, this time on the defensive end with a miscommunication ending up with a Durant foul. Durant snapped at Ibaka, the two exchanged heated words for a brief moment, and moved on.

Steven Adams on his performance: “I sucked tonight.”

Dion Waiters wasn’t asked any questions postgame, but he could’ve said something similar. He went 0-6 for zero points in 31 minutes.

I will say this about Waiters, though: This kind of game is a bit of a narrative buster with him. He went scoreless, and definitely knew that, but he wasn’t forcing anything at all. He wasn’t asking for the ball and trying to go 1-on-5. He wasn’t firing stepback long 2s. He took six shots!

His defense overall was meh, I thought. Some good moments, some bad. And some that will get highlighted, like going under a screen in a crucial spot that allowed Ellis a good look.

So Mark Daigneault, who is joining the Thunder bench for the rest of the season, wasn’t with the team because he was coaching the Blue… because Jarrell Christian, who was filling in with the Blue for Daigneault, was away from the team because his wife was having a baby.

The Pacers have way too many George’s and Hill’s. Solomon Hill, George Hill, Jordan Hill, Paul George, George Hill. What is going on here?

Enes Kanter couldn’t finish. That also had to do with Turner, who was awesome. But Kanter went just 5-15, missing a bunch around the rim. He did have 13 and 10 in 20 minutes though.

This might’ve actually been a good night for Randy Foye. Donovan said he didn’t want to throw him into a back and forth game with only one shootaround under his belt, which OK, but Kyle Singler was forced to guard Monta Ellis for large stretches and that killed OKC. The second unit sorely needed a quicker on ball guard to help there.

Donovan had switched up the rotation to start the fourth in the Thunder’s last two games, playing Durant the first couple minutes to stagger him and Westbrook. Didn’t do that tonight, though. And on cue, the bench was outscored 8-2 the first two and a half minutes.

Donovan took exception to that postgame though, saying they didn’t lose the lead because they led by seven with two minutes to go. Fair enough, but you could also say a nine-point lead that goes to three could’ve been a nine-point lead that goes to 15. Or just stayed nine. Which would’ve been important.

The big problem with Kyle Singler’s hair is that it just turns straight buttcut the moment he starts running.

Durant stayed down for a moment after tweaking an ankle — his right one — in traffic. The sound in the arena can only be described as FEAR FEAR FEAR. He said he’s fine postgame.

I think Donovan really likes having Payne, mainly because he can coach him. Not that he doesn’t coach Westbrook, Durant and others, but Donovan really coaches Payne. Stays on him about a lot of stuff. Probably feels good like he’s back at Florida.

Donovan called an unusual timeout with 10 seconds left. Paul George had missed his first free throw in a three-point game, and Donovan used his last 20. George made the second, OKC hurried up the floor and Durant hit a 3 to cut it to one with 5.9 left. OKC fouled, George made both, and Westbrook missed from deep after having five seconds to work with.

I asked Donovan about it and his explanation was fine, saying he wanted to try and ice George after the miss (analytics say this is a good move), and that he liked having the whole floor to work up to get a quick 3, noting that on side out plays sometimes it can be harder to get something good off because the defense can switch everything.

Randy Foye said he was practicing yesterday with the Nuggets, then was pulled out of it and told that 50 percent of the deal was done on their end. And then he got a notification on the NBA app that the deal was done, and that’s how he found out.

Foye: “This is a first class organization. For me just walking into the practice facility today and seeing how everything was ran, the structure, like I said there’s a reason they are where they are.”

Foye on expectation of role: “I’ve just got to fit in. I don’t have to put no extra myself… I’ve just got to come in and do what I do.”

Foye on going from a rebuilding team to a contender: “I was shocked when it first happened. Just the shock factor. But once I sat downstairs while [the Nuggets] went upstairs to start practicing, I was like, ‘I’m about to be on a team that could win it all, or have the goals to win it all.’ I just sat there for a minute and let it sink in and said to myself that I’ve got to do whatever it takes to be ready.”

Next up: Home against the Cavs on Sunday