Despite Quebecer Bennedict Mathurin’s 19 points in his first NBA game, the Indiana Pacers lost 114-107 to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.
However, Mathurin made a good first impression.
The sixth pick in the last NBA Draft made four of his six shots in the first half, including two three-pointers. He finished the first half with 12 points and four rebounds.
At the end of his night’s work, he had seven rebounds, two steals, had 28 minutes of play — despite not being in the starting five — and finished with the team’s best differential at +9. .
“He’s going to learn a lot of things,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle admitted. Look, it’s Ben’s first game and he has tools that no one else on this team has. »
Only Tyrese Haliburton had more points than Mathurin for the Pacers with 26. But after Indiana conceded 12 of the first 18 points, the Wizards kept the Pacers out of reach.
Bradley Beal scored 23 points and Kyle Kuzma added 20 for the Wizards.
The Washington team earned their second straight season opener for the first time since 2004-05.
The Pacers never came within five points in the second half, until a Mathurin field goal 31.2 seconds from time made it 110-107. But he missed the ensuing free throw and the Wizards secured the win.
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