After spurning the Thunder, Wesley Matthews beats them for the Indiana Pacers

INDIANAPOLIS – When Wesley Matthews hit the market as a free agent last month, he had his share of suitors, including the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Paul George led his recruitment. He said no to George, and on Thursday night, his tip-in with 1.8 seconds left gave the Indiana Pacers an improbable 108-106 victory at Bankers Life Fieldhouse to cap a 19-point comeback in the second half.

"I'm glad he came here," said Thaddeus Young, who stayed on the bench during the final 6:25, leaving with the Pacers behind 96-85. "That would've been a problem on our hands if he wound up against us. He's coming up huge for us day by day. He has great leadership, a powerful voice in this locker room."

George (game-high 36 points, six rebounds, five assists) proved unstoppable most of the way, including the second quarter when he nailed a couple stepback 3s to put the Thunder up 51-38.

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The Pacers (44-25) hung around despite non-existent 3-point shooting (7-for-22) and being too casual with the ball against a team noted for jumping passing lanes and extending ball pressure. The Pacers committed 16 turnovers.

Five of the giveaways came in the third quarter. Young had two on bad passes. Darren Collison let the ball slip through his hands in the corner.

Still, the Pacers found their way back after recent lopsided losses at the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers.

"When we got our attitude, we decided that we have to make it a little bit tougher for them," Matthews said. "We had to show up. We needed a game like this. A playoff team, playoff atmosphere, we had to get it."

They got there behind Domantas Sabonis (26 points, seven rebounds, four assists) as he pounded the Thunder's second unit inside, opening up the 3-point line.

"He's a problem down there," Myles Turner said of Sabonis, his backup who spent his rookie season with the Thunder before being traded to Indy with Victor Oladipo for George. "They can't single-team him. They had to come with double-teams and he was unstoppable tonight. It has to feel good coming against a former team."

Young could've returned to the game, but the veteran urged coach Nate McMillan to let him sit even though his defense against George and Russell Westbrook (19 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists) was needed. The combination of Turner and Sabonis, who don't often play together this late in games, clicked.

Neither Jerami Grant nor Nerlens Noel could handle Sabonis inside. He made 7 of 12 shots and 12 of 13 foul shots. 

"I got Thad out early in that third quarter, brought him back and then had him in the game in the fourth quarter," McMillan said. "I told him I was going to give him a two-minute breather when I brought Myles into the game, but Domas was playing so well Thad said, 'Let him go. Don't mess with him.' That is what we have to be about, supporting your teammates and encourage your teammates."

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Matthews (16 points, seven rebounds, two steals), a 6-5 guard who can defend small forwards, did the job on both ends late. He had a pair of 3s and an extra pass to get Bojan Bogdanovic (23 points) a 3. Collison (17 points, seven assists, six rebounds, four steals) cut the deficit to 99-98 on a layup with 4:04 left.

They took the lead 104-101 playing through Bogdanovic. He found Turner (10 points, six rebounds) diving to the rim off of a ball screen for a dunk. They ran a similar action again and Bogdanovic used a hesitation dribble for the layup. 

George's 3 tied the score, and he gave Oklahoma City (42-27) the lead one last time with free throws. Sabonis tied it on a post-up move.

Then it was Matthews saving the game. He harassed George into a mishandle and a turnover by stepping on the sideline with 38.3 seconds left.

Bogdanovic turned it over, but Collison stole it back from George. That set up the final sequence as Matthews crashed the boards on Bogdanovic's miss, climbing over Westbrook to send the sellout crowd into a frenzy.

It’s a crucial point in the season as the Pacers try to maintain a top-four seed in the East, which would bring homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. It’s also a grand sendoff as the Pacers leave home on a two-game win streak to start a Western swing at the Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, L.A. Clippers and Golden State Warriors.

They'd lost five of their previous seven games and haven't been themselves post All-Star break. 

"We definitely needed this momentum," Collison said. "It just seemed like every game we've been getting close against these teams and tonight we finally got to pull away."

The Pacers don’t return home until they host the Nuggets on March 24. Then they hit the road again to play the Thunder and Boston Celtics.

Complacency isn’t an option. Dropping to fifth place would put the Pacers in the same position they were a year ago.

Without their best player, their chances to advance won’t be as good.

They'll need as many as they can win, but the timing couldn't have been better.

Matthews was in the right place and in more ways than one.

"I saw an opportunity to crash," he said of his tip-in, "and I took it."