The Indiana Pacers have had a lot of players step up and deliver in these playoffs, and it was Bennedict Mathurin's turn on Wednesday. Mathurin had 27 points, four rebounds, one assist and one block in 22 minutes off the bench to power the Pacers to a 116-107 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Mathurin had 10 points in the fourth quarter alone to help the Pacers take a 2-1 lead in this series. The 22-year-old has actually found playing time hard to come by on occasion this postseason (averaging 16.7 minutes per game), and it initially looked like he might not be playing much of a role in this game either.
Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin (00) reacts to a foul called against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center.
Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin (00) exploded for 27 points in crucial Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
Mathurin didn't feature at all in the first quarter of Game 3, and some players might have lost a bit of confidence in that situation. That was unlikely to happen to him, though.
If there is one thing Mathurin is never lacking, it's confidence in his abilities. That was on display before the 2022 NBA Draft, as his comments regarding LeBron James from back then resurfaced after his heroics in Game 3.
"A lot of people say he's great," Mathurin said, via Pikkit. "I want to see how great he is. I don't think anybody is better than me. He's going to have to show me he's better than me."
Mathurin, whom the Pacers would select with the sixth pick, was expressing his confidence in his own abilities there, but it was still a bold statement. To his credit, he delivered the first time he had to play against James. The first meeting took place when the Pacers faced the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on Nov. 28, 2022.
Mathurin had 23 points, eight rebounds, one assist and one steal as the Pacers beat the Lakers 116-115. As for James, he had 21 points, seven rebounds, three assists and one steal. Mathurin got the better of James that night, but has tasted defeat in their two meetings since.