Ouch. That's all I can say after the Oklahoma City Thunder pounded the Pacers 97-74 in Indiana. The game was kinda close for two-and-a-half quarters, though the Thunder seemed in charge all the way. In the end, despite Roy Hibbert's 22 and 8, it came down to the fact that OKC had superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, while the Pacers simple had three regular All-Stars.

What can you say? Those guys imposed their will and took over the game when it mattered. Not to say the Pacers can't beat a team with superstars, but when they have two, it becomes all the more difficult. Unfortunately, with Danny Granger sidelined for the remainder of the season, we were deprived the opportunity to find out if four stars (Granger, Hibbert, George West), a solid point guard (George Hill) and a young wild card (Lance Stephenson) would be enough to beat a team with two superstars.

The loss means the Pacers are falling behind in the race for the second seed with the streaking Knicks. Right now, however, all I care about is that they finish the season on a strong note. This is not the time of the year to be falling apart.

This is no April Fool's Day joke, but still count me as one of the surprised. I did not expect that the Pacers would be able to build a 24-point third quarter lead against the Clippers in LA, and I certainly did not expect that they could hold on when the Clips came within 2 points with more than a minute to go in the game.

Sure, the Pacers had won 4 games in a row (including 3 on the road) and the Clips had been sluggish in recent losses to the Spurs and Rockets, but this was a statement game for them in LA as they tried to reach 50 wins for the first timein franchise history.

The main reason the Pacers managed to get this one was the big fella, Roy Hibbert, who has been playing his best ball of the season -- finally. Roy put up 26 points and 10 rebounds on 11-14 shooting before fouling out, and was instrumental in the Pacers jumping out to an early lead. I guess he was atoning for missing their last encounter with the Clips when he was suspended for tossing Steph Curry around like a ragged doll -- a game that the Pacers lost.

Paul George chipped in with 23, 10 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals; David West had 16, including a cold-blooded fadeaway in the face of Blake Griffin that added a bit of breathing room when the game got too close for comfort; and George Hill and Lance Stephenson had 13 apiece.

This was the Pacers' 5th consecutive win, which, believe it or not, ties a season high that matches a streak that ended in Feb when the Pacers swept the only back-to-back-to-back game of the entire NBA season. The Pacers would go on to lose the next two, to Brooklyn and Toronto at home, in disappointing fashion, so let's home things will be different this time.

Unfortunately, their next game is against the Thunder, who beat the Pacers 104-93 in OKC in December. I hate this matchup for more reasons than there are letters in Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, but perhaps the Pacers can surprise me again and get this one so they can stay within reach of the Knicks for the second seed. That said, right now the third seed means a date with the Chicago Bulls, while the second seed means a date with the Boston Celtics. I'm sure the Pacers would prefer the former than the latter, though it could also mean starting the second round on the road at Madison Square Garden.

This was one of those games where I kept thinking, "The Pacers are so much better than the Suns, they should be blowing them out by 25", but on the other hand I kept fearing that the feisty Suns would hang around and eventually squeeze out a home victory via a Pacers collapse we've all seen too many times.

Fortunately for Indiana, that collapse never came. Give the Suns credit. For much of the night they clawed and scratched and made the Pacers sweat by coming within a single point with more than 2 minutes to go. But the Pacers settled down, pounded the ball to their go-to-guys (David West and Paul George), and finally eked out a 112-104 win, moving them to 47-27 for the season. The Pacers have now won 4 straight and 3 straight on the road, a rarity for this team.

Paul George seemingly toyed with the Suns defense at times en route to 25 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Roy Hibbert continued his strong play of late with 20 and 7. Lance Stephenson had 16, David West had 14 and George Hill had 15 as all five starters finished in double figures.

With a lot of missed free throws early on and poor ball handling, this was not a great game for the Pacers -- but with the Knicks streaking I'm sure they would take any win they can get right now.

Next up, a huge road game against the Clippers as the Pacers look to sweep this 4-game West coast road trip.

Select members of the Dallas Mavericks (led by Dirk Nowitzki and Vince Carter) were so desperate to get rid of their beards, which they vowed to not shave off until their team got back to 0.500, that they got OJ Mayo's barber on standby, just so they could get a shave as soon as they beat the Indiana Pacers and reach their goal.

Not so fast, says Paul George and the Pacers, who put up a second half clinic to run away with the game, 103-78. Did the Pacers feel disrespected? Maybe, but I think at this stage of the season, with Danny Granger ruled out until next training camp, they are just focused on the task at hand -- that is, clinch the second seed and head into the playoffs on a high note.

Paul George simply toyed with the Mavs defense at times en route to a game high 24 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals on 10-17 shooting. Roy Hibbert continued his strong play of late and had 16 and 11, shutting down the Mavs from the defensive end in the second half along with former Mav Ian Mahinmi. 

David West was back in action after missing 6 games with a back injury, and the rust was definitely there, as evident from the 7-point night and 1-4 shooting from the free throw line. He seemed a little winded out there, actually. Fortunately, Tyler Hansbrough was there to pick up the slack with an energized 13 points and 9 rebounds in 20 minutes of action.

George Hill had a much better game and finished with a solid 10 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists and Orland Johnson was the key man off the bench with 12 points (seriously, this guy has to be the second round steal of the last draft!).

I must say I was surprised the Pacers got both this win and the won against the Rockets the night before, which enabled them to hold on to the second seed over the Knicks -- for now.

The get another supposedly "easy" game against the Suns next, but after that it's the Clippers and Oklahoma City. The team's final four games of the season are against Brooklyn, New York, Boston and Philly. The Knicks have won 7-straight despite injury woes and play Charlotte next, so they will be hard to hold off.

Danny Granger's 2012-2013 NBA season is over. Despite speculation that Granger would return tonight against the Rockets, the Pacers have announced that Granger will have season-ending knee surgery on the knee that has bothered him since the end of last season.

In the end, the Pacers' captain and leading team scorer for the last 5 seasons, played only 5 games and averaged just 5.4 points off the bench. Sad, but can't say we didn't see it coming. Granger played a few games in the preseason before undergoing a platelet-rich plasma procedure. He came back and went through that 5-game stretch in late February before being shelved again.

Th truth is, Granger sitting out until next season won't have much of an effect on the Pacers this season. They've been without him all season and have done well enough to likely end the regular season as a top 3 seed. And even had they had Granger (at 5%, 50% or 100%), they were not going to beat the Miami Heat (let's be honest). So why not let this team see how far they can go with Paul George and David West? Why not let Paul George try and take his game to the next level this offseason?

Does this mean Granger is done in Indiana? Pacers' brass say he is a part of the team's future, and I suppose as long as his injury status is uncertain, is is unlikely they'll get fair value for him. But if he can be traded for a few decent bench pieces, will the Pacers consider it?

With David West to become a free agent, this is turning out to be a very interesting offseason coming up for Indiana.