Clippers’ Bennedict Mathurin out to excel vs. Pacers, his former club
The Los Angeles Clippers' revamped backcourt will be in complete focus Tuesday when it matches up against the Indiana Pacers at Inglewood, Calif.
The Clippers not only will have Bennedict Mathurin face off against the team that traded him last month, they also will have Darius Garland, who made his debut with the team during a 114-101 comeback victory against the Golden State Warriors on Monday.
Mathurin, who was sent to Los Angeles as part of the return for Ivica Zubac at the trade deadline, already has played eight games with his new team, settling into a backup role with 18.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per contest.
Mathurin was in his fourth season with the Pacers and has delivered an average of 16.2 points in 245 games (110 starts) since he was the No. 6 overall draft pick in 2022 out of Arizona.
Garland finally joined Mathurin on the floor and overcame his own slow start Monday to score 12 points in 23 minutes. He was just 1 of 3 from the floor with three turnovers in the first half before contributing to a rally that helped Los Angeles overcome a 16-point deficit early in the third quarter.
Garland, who was in his first game since Jan. 14 because of a toe injury, showed plenty of rust but found a flow with an adjustment from the bench.
"In the second half, the adjustment was just single pick, middle of the floor, let him go either way, let him operate, and that's what really turned him loose," Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said. "In that first half, you haven't played in a while, and soon as you come out there, they blitz you ... it was a tough position to be in. But I thought, in the second half, he found his rhythm a little better."
Zubac still has not made his debut for the Pacers as he continues to recover from the left ankle sprain that occurred in the Clippers' Dec. 20 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. He tried to play through the injury before the deadline, with the Pacers now opting for rest over immediate playing time in the wake of the deal.
On a six-game losing streak, Indiana continues to make its way through a lost season following Tyrese Haliburton's Achilles injury during last year's NBA Finals. The Pacers will try to emerge from their rut while starting a four-game West Coast road trip.
During Sunday's 125-106 home loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, Jarace Walker had a team-leading 21 points, while rookie Kam Jones had his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 assists.
"As I've been getting more and more reps, the game is just kind of slowing down for me," said Jones, who was in his 24th career game while making his sixth start. "The reads are a lot easier to make just by getting game time, getting reps."
Indiana leading scorer Pascal Siakam (23.9 points) missed his third consecutive game with a left wrist sprain, while assist leader Andrew Nembhard (7.4) was out with back and neck soreness.