THUNDER WIRE - Only needing a single dribble to decide, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pulled up from the top of the key for a heavily contested 3-pointer. Swish. Not even getting away with a little contact helped Bennedict Mathurin prevent the dagger.

The Oklahoma City Thunder snatched a 120114 win over the Indiana Pacers. The victory had scheduled loss written all over it until the finals moment when OKC stole it after a subpar performance.

“I thought we did a great job fighting back multiple times. That’s part of what Indiana does to you with their pace and just the way they can score in bunches,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “They create a lot of variances in the game. You got to really stay leveled and play the possession in front of you. I thought we did that multiple times tonight.”

The start was the worst the Thunder have looked all season. Lu Dort suffered a scary-looking injury in the opening minute. After a missed layup, he went to the locker room with a non-contact incident. That likely shook OKC as it fell into a 10-0 hole early and escalated to a 22-7 deficit. The Pacers held a 29-19 lead after the first quarter.

Both teams’ second quarters had seesaw runs. The Thunder had a 10-2 run to cut it to a single-digit deficit. Indiana then responded with a 10-2 run of its own. OKC then had an 11-3 run. Overall, its offense looked much better in the second frame. The Pacers held a 61-53 halftime lead. Gilgeous-Alexander previewed his monster second-half run with a strong first-half finish. Despite a poor opening two quarters, the Thunder were within striking distance at the break. OKC quickly made Indiana regret not building up a larger cushion. It scored 11 straight points in the second half’s early stages to retake the lead.

From that point on, both teams exchanged baskets. The Pacers had a 9-1 run as Tyrese Haliburton’s floater pushed their lead to 72-65. A 14-2 run by the Thunder at the end of the third frame helped them enter the fourth quarter with a manageable 84-83 deficit.

Both squads took turns owning the lead. The lead tracker resembled a hospital monitor. When the Thunder had a small advantage, the Pacers would return the favor. Jalen Williams went downhill for the layup to tie it at 100 apiece with less than six minutes left. Gilgeous-Alexander hit a crucial pull-up 3-pointer for the 103-100 advantage.

The Pacers then scored seven straight points. Haliburton swished in another floater to give Indiana a 107-103 lead with 3:42 left. It felt like OKC ran out of gas after overcoming an early 15-point deficit. Then, Gilgeous-Alexander added another MVP moment to his resume as he dragged the Thunder to the finish line. Gilgeous-Alexander made a step back midrange jumper. Williams scored four straight points off a drive and at the freethrow line. Swishing in both free throws, OKC had a two-point lead with two minutes left it wouldn’t surrender the rest of the way.

Isaiah Hartenstein was fouled and banked in both free-throw attempts on the next possession. Gilgeous-Alexander then hit the soul-crushing step back 3-pointer on Mathurin that likely should’ve been an and-one.

The final minute was drama-less as Indiana tried — and failed — to get one last gasp of hope by forcing OKC to make its free throws, which it did.

Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Man, what a win.

The Thunder shot 46% from the field and went 13-of-37 (35.1%) from 3. They went 19-of-24 from the free-throw line. They had 20 assists on 44 baskets. Four Thunder players scored double-digit points. Gilgeous-Alexander tied his career-high 45 points on efficient shooting. Williams added 20 points. Hartenstein had another double-double and Dort finished with 13 points.

Meanwhile, the Pacers shot 47% from the field and went 14-of-36 (38.9%) from 3. They went 16-of-22 from the free-throw line. They had 28 assists on 42 baskets. Six Pacer players scored double-digit points.

Pascal Siakam had 22 points and 10 rebounds. He shot 5-of-7 from 3. Andrew Nembhard finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Mathurin had 18 points and six rebounds. Myles Turner turned in a 12-point double-double. Haliburton had a quiet four points and eight assists.

Up until the final minutes, this felt like a loss for the Thunder. They fell behind early and used all their energy to make it interesting. But that was that. Indiana looked like they did enough to keep a lead. It happens. A loss against a red-hot Pacers wouldn’t have been the worst way to snap an eight-game win streak.

Instead, Gilgeous-Alexander saw an opportunity to help his MVP case. A monster outing changed the outcome of this game. OKC continues to be a winning machine.

“Everybody seemed to make a big play for us tonight that we really needed on a night where we’re playing a very hot opponent,” Daigneault said. “With that said, Shai was outstanding tonight. That was a masterpiece. He was at his own pace the entire night. I thought he moved it out of the early helps and got his teammates activated but a great blend of passing attacking; a great blend of shooting, attacking. He just had total control of the wheel tonight.”

After a ho-hum 41 points against the Washington Wizards, Gilgeous-Alexander one-upped himself with a career performance against one of the league’s hottest teams. He finished with 45 points on 15-of-22 shooting, eight assists and seven rebounds. He shot 4-of-5 from 3 and went 11-of-11 from the freethrow line.

Jalen Williams finished with 20 points on 8-of-22 shooting, five assists and four rebounds. He shot 2-of-6 from 3 and went 2-of-2 from the free-throw line.

At first glance, those aren’t numbers the Thunder hope to see from Williams. The 23-yearold has lived off being a superb efficient scorer like Gilgeous-Alexander. That’s been off kilter for the last handful of games. But dissecting his performance even further shows he stepped up when the pressure was at its highest.

In the opening minute, Dort both blew a layup and a tire. He landed awkwardly and needed to leave. OKC collectively held its breath. It’s been bitten worse than most by the injury bug this year.

Dort’s injury scare could’ve been far worse. It’s never good to see someone get hurt on a non-contact play. Thankfully, his absence was short. He finished with 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting and seven rebounds. He shot 3-of-8 from 3.

The OKC Thunder take on the Charlotte Hornets Saturday at 5 p.m. The game will be televised on Bally Sports, NBA TV, Sling, FUBO and YouTube TV.