NBA: Indiana 117, Oklahoma City 99

OKLAHOMA CITY, April 5 (UPI) -- Danny Granger had 24 points and four rebounds Sunday to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 117-99 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The victory helped the Pacers keep their slim playoff hopes flickering. They trail both Chicago and Detroit by four games in the battle for the seventh Eastern Conference playoff berth with five games left in the regular season.

Indiana raced out to a 31-19 lead after the first period Sunday. After taking a 61-50 lead with 9:19 left in the third, the Pacers maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

Troy Murphy had 22 points and nine rebounds. Roy Hibbert scored 17 with eight rebounds, Jarrett Jack scored 14 with four assists, while Brandon Rush added 13 points and three rebounds in the Pacers' third win in four games.

Kevin Durant led OKC with 25 points and six rebounds. Nick Collison scored 15 with six rebounds, and Russell Westbrook had 11 points with seven rebounds in the Thunder's ninth loss in their last 12 games.