Canada’s Mathurin has all-time playoff scoring performance off bench in Game 3

In a shocking turn of events in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, the highest scoring Canadian was the only one to come off the bench: Bennedict Mathurin.

The Montreal-born wing scored 27 points on a hyper-efficient 9-of-12 shooting to lead all scorers and help propel the Indiana Pacers to a Game 3 upset of the powerhouse Oklahoma City Thunder.

Yet his performance came as no surprise to the underdog Pacers and their head coach Rick Carlisle, whose playoff success has been predicated on depth contributions.

“Mathurin jumped in there and immediately was aggressive and got the ball in the basket,” said Carlisle to reporters after the game. “Look, this is the kind of team that we are. We need everybody to be ready. It’s not always going to be exactly the same guys that are stepping up with scoring. This is how we gotta do it, and we gotta do it as a team.”

Indiana has shirked the league’s typical formula of stars taking over in the playoffs. They are the only team to make it past the second round with more than five players averaging double-digit points — all five starters and Mathurin.

After scoring over 20 points twice in the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Knicks, this was his most prolific playoff scoring performance yet. It was also the third-most points scored off the bench in a playoff game all-time.

Even more spectacular, Mathurin didn’t leave the pine until the start of the second quarter.

“Just staying ready whenever my number gets called,” said Mathurin to reporters of his mentality following the win. “Just to go in the game and do the right things and try to help my team win.”

After scoring his first basket with a cutting layup, he followed by maneuvering out of the pick-and-roll and settling into a pull-up mid-range jumper over Chet Holmgren’s seven-foot-one frame. It was a sign of things to come.

He proceeded to carve up the Thunder’s defence up for 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the quarter. After most of Mathurin’s initial buckets came in the flow of the offence, Indiana called his number twice to start the fourth and he converted both times.

“I thought he (Mathurin) did just a great job of playing within what we do so well,” said star-guard Tyrese Haliburton. “He did a great job of coming off handoffs, reading the pocket, rising up from the mid-range. This is a defence that will give that up. Analytically, that’s not the best shot.

“But I thought he did a great job of hunting that and getting downhill. What Ben does at such a high level is getting to the free throw line, and in this series, we need to get to free throws. We need to get to the paint. I thought he did a great job of that.”

“Pretty much just shooting shots I like,” added Mathurin. “I was able to get in the gym a lot this weekend and just prepare for this game.”

Mathurin averaged 16.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists during the regular season, but eventually ceded his starting role to a better three-point shooter and defender in Aaron Nesmith.

The six-foot-six microwave scorer has managed to pack a punch off the Pacers bench in playoffs, turning in four 20-point performances while averaging 11.2 points on over 50 per cent shooting.

The other Canadian Pacer, Andrew Nembhard, may not have had much of a showing in the box score, but he did a tremendous job as the primary defender on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

His on-ball defence was instrumental in containing the MVP’s drives and angling him towards help defenders. This included two plays where Gilgeous-Alexander was herded towards Myles Turner and Pascal Siakam in help, resulting in a tie-up and jump ball and heavily-contested miss, respectively.

The Pacers will need their Canadian depth to keep stepping up if they are going to close out the series against the league-best Thunder and win their first-ever NBA Championship.

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