Quebec’s Bennedict Mathurin had the second performance of at least 30 points of his young career, but it wasn’t enough for the Indiana Pacers, who lost 122 to 119 to the Denver Nuggets at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday.
The crowd favorite could have forced extra time but Myles Turner’s three-point shot went wide as the bell rang.
Returning to Mathurin, he sank 10 of his 17 shots, including six of his nine from downtown, as well as four of his six free throws, for 30 points. He was amazing especially in the first half, retiring to the dressing room with 23 points on his record, 15 of them thanks to three-point shots.
Tyrese Haliburton has tried to help his teammate with 21 points alone but to no avail.
Everyone on the Nuggets side gave their all as six players topped 15 points, including Nikola Jokic, who was the most prolific with 24 points. Aaron Gordon also played a leading role with 18 points – as did Canada’s Jamal Murray – in addition to 16 rebounds.
The Pacers will now enjoy two days off before hosting the Toronto Raptors on Saturday.
Raptors prevail against Rockets
In Toronto, the Raptors corrected a slow start and eventually defeated the Houston Rockets 116-109.
Nick Nurse’s men got off to a poor start, allowing the league’s worst team 37 points in the first quarter and responding with just 29 points.
After that, however, they were more convincing, taking more points than their rivals in each of the remaining three quarters. They recovered fairly quickly too, dominating the second quarter 28-17 to retire to the dressing room with a three-point lead.
Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby were the most productive on the crowd favorites with 32 and 27 points respectively. Quebec’s Chris Boucher was on the floor for just over 13 minutes and scored two points, in addition to four rebounds.
Jalen Green provided the guests’ response with 21 points.
The Raptors will cross south of the Canada-US border to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday before taking on Bennedict Mathurin and the Quebec Pacers the next day.
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