INDIANAPOLIS (AP):

Russell Westbrook scored a career-high 54 points Sunday, but the Indiana Pacers fended off his late charge for a critical 116-104 victory over Oklahoma City.

C.J. Miles matched his season high with 30 points to lead Indiana (37-43) to their fifth straight win and into a tie with Brooklyn for the eighth and final play-off spot in the East. The Nets own the tiebreaker.

The Thunder (43-37) lost for the fifth time in six games despite a near triple-double from Westbrook, who had nine rebounds and eight assists. Oklahoma City is tied with New Orleans for the No. 8 seed in the West.

In Houston, James Harden scored 30 points as the Rockets used a big run at the beginning of the fourth quarter to down the New Orleans Pelicans 121-114.

The Rockets ended a two-game losing streak behind the NBA-leading 35th 30-point game for Harden, who leads the league in scoring.

Corey Brewer and Dwight Howard carried Houston in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter combining for all of the Rockets' points in a 14-5 run that put them on top 100-91. Howard finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Brewer added 20 points.

Milwaukee's Ersan Ilyasova scored 21 points as the Bucks clinched a play-off spot with a blowout 96-73 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Brook Lopez had his 17th double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets.

Isaiah Thomas scored 17 points as the Boston Celtics moved closer to a play-off berth with a 117-78 victory over a Cleveland Cavaliers team without LeBron James and three other starters.

The San Antonio Spurs downed the Phoenix Suns 107-91 after Tim Duncan had 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead San Antonio to its 11th straight victory.

San Antonio moved into second place in the Western Conference and took a half-game lead over idle Memphis in the Southwest Division. The defending champion Spurs have won 21 of 24.