By KURT VOIGT
By KURT VOIGT
AP Sports Writer
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City insisted there was no extra motivation playing against an Indiana team sporting the NBA’s best record.
Kevin Durant certainly played like there was on Sunday night, scoring 36 points and grabbing 10 rebounds as the Thunder made quick work of the visiting Pacers with a 118-94 win.
What started as a matchup of NBA Finals’ hopefuls quickly turned into a rout, with Oklahoma City leading by as many as 29 points in the first half before finishing with stars Durant and Russell Westbrook — who added 26 points and 13 assists — resting comfortably on the bench.
It was also a largely one-sided affair — particularly early — in the matchup between Durant and Indiana All-Star Paul George.
George finished with 32 points, but he had only six at halftime as the Thunder surged ahead and never looked back.
“I take everything personal, no matter who I’m playing,” Durant said. “I’m always grateful for the opportunity to play, so I never want to take it for granted.
“… Of course, playing one of the best teams in the league, you’ve always got to bring it a little bit more, I guess, and tonight I think we all did that.”
While George was quiet offensively in the first half, Durant opened the game with a point to prove against last year’s Eastern Conference finalist.
The NBA’s leading scorer at 28.5 points per game hit 6 of 7 shots in the first quarter, scoring 14 of the Thunder’s first 18 points. It was just the start of the fun for Oklahoma City, which improved to 10-0 at home this season and is the only Western Conference team still undefeated at home.
“I think we know that we can play with the best of them,” Westbrook said. “I think tonight we did a good job of just playing our game.”
Durant was 14 of 23 from the field and Oklahoma City shot a season-best 61 percent (47 of 77). Reggie Jackson added 15 points off the bench, while Serge Ibaka finished with 13.
Indiana, which shot just 40 percent (34 of 85), was playing its second game in two nights — having won at San Antonio on Saturday.
Roy Hibbert backed up George’s strong second-half performance with 12 points, while David West also finished in double figures with 11.
It was all too-little, too-late for the Pacers, who suffered their worst loss of the season. Their only other losses were by 16 points at Chicago on Nov. 16 and by four points at Portland on Dec. 2.
“I wouldn’t say we had tired legs, but the Thunder definitely knew what we were up against,” George said. “They knew this was a back-to-back night for us. They came out with that urgency to really run us, and see if we could compete and match their energy.”
The Thunder swept the regular-season series with Indiana last season, and they nearly equaled their season-high of 119 points in the win — falling one point short of what they scored on Nov. 8 against Detroit.
Oklahoma City led by as many as 14 points in the first quarter, stretching that to 19 points in the second quarter after Jeremy Lamb’s 3-pointer put the Thunder up 43-24.
NEW YORK — Jordan Crawford scored 23 points and the Boston Celtics had the most-lopsided victory in the NBA this season, battering the New York Knicks 114-73 on Sunday.
Jared Sullinger added 21 points for the Celtics, who jumped to leads of 12-0, 18-1 and 25-3 and improved their Atlantic Division-leading record to 10-12.
The Celtics led 58-31 at halftime, then Crawford made four 3-pointers in a 34-point quarter that extended Boston’s lead to 92-56.
Carmelo Anthony scored 19 points for the Knicks.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — LeBron James had 24 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and Miami past Detroit, avenging a home loss to the Pistons less than a week ago.
Ray Allen added 18 points for the Heat, who were without Dwyane Wade but still shot 56 percent from the field and 11 of 28 from 3-point range. Miami took a 16-5 lead, and although the Pistons fought back, the Heat went on a 13-2 run in the third quarter to make it 74-57.
Andre Drummond had 19 points and 14 rebounds for Detroit, which had its four-game winning streak snapped.
The Pistons beat the Heat 107-97 on Tuesday night.
HOUSTON — DwightHoward celebrated his 28th birthday in a big way, getting 20 points and 21 rebounds to lead Houston over Orlando.
James Harden scored 27 points and also had 10 assists and eight rebounds for the Rockets. Terrence Jones added 16 points and 13 rebounds. Glenn Davis scored 18 points in Orlando’s fifth straight loss.