OKLAHOMA CITY – Kevin Durant scored 21 points before leaving with a sprained left ankle and the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped their first three-game losing streak of the season by beating the Indiana Pacers 113-89 on Tuesday night.
Durant, the NBA's scoring leader with a 28.5-point average, was helped to the locker room by two trainers after he stepped on Tyler Hansbrough's foot and got fouled on a drive to the basket with 2:44 left in the third quarter.
He did not return.
Russell Westbrook added 21 points and nine assists and James Harden scored 17 of his 20 points during the first half, when Oklahoma City built a 22-point lead. The Thunder led by as many as 35 in the fourth quarter before emptying their bench.
Hansbrough led Indiana with 13 points and Dahntay Jones scored 12.
Durant, who missed two games in November after spraining the same ankle, stayed in the game to hit his two free throws before coming out. He committed a foul immediately after hitting his second foul shot and headed toward the tunnel.
Oklahoma City already led by 23 at that point, and Daequan Cook and Eric Maynor hit 3-pointers during an 11-0 run that pushed the advantage to 97-62 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter.
Indiana made a 10-0 response before another 3 by Cook, and Thunder coach Scott Brooks then made a wholesale lineup change with just over 6 minutes to play.
Oklahoma City scored the first 10 points of the game and never trailed.
The Pacers missed their first seven shots, committed four quick turnovers to fuel Oklahoma City's fast-break offense and lost Granger to two fouls within the first 4 minutes. The Thunder had eight fast-break points during their 16-2 opening run and also got Nazr Mohammed's first points with the team on a pair of free throws and first basket on a layup underneath off a feed from Durant.
Granger returned from the bench to help Indiana get within seven, only for Harden to score seven points during Oklahoma City's 10-0 burst that made it 40-23 with 8:43 left before halftime. Harden finished it off with a two-handed dunk that also drew Granger's third foul and sent him back to the sideline.
The foul trouble limited Granger to just 6 minutes before halftime, when the Pacers trailed 63-42. They never got closer than 16 in the second half.
Granger finished with nine points in 18 minutes, and he didn't play in the fourth quarter.
The Pacers suffered their second-biggest loss of the season and were just starting a stretch with six of their next seven games on the road. They've lost five of eight after starting out 7-1 under interim coach Frank Vogel.
Mohammed had eight points and seven rebounds in his first start with the Thunder after coming over in a trade with Charlotte at the trade deadline last week. Nate Robinson scored six points in his Thunder debut. He was included in the trade with Boston that brought Kendrick Perkins to the Thunder.
NOTES: Robinson got a loud ovation after entering the game with 1:47 left before halftime, then airballed his first shot on a 3-pointer that sailed well long two possessions later. He had a reverse layup to finish the first half. ... Brooks said one reason he started Mohammed was to keep Nick Collison with his reserves he's played with all season. "I kind of wanted just to keep that unit in tact as much as possible because it's been a good unit for us," Brooks said. "Nick is kind of like a glue guy in that unit." ... Cook went 4-for-7 on 3-pointers and scored 12 points. He is 19-for-37 from 3-point range in his past six games.
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