Pacers’ Mathurin wins Rising Stars MVP on All-Star Weekend،
INDIANAPOLIS – There would be no Victor Wembanyama-Chet Holmgren showdown thanks to Mac McClung and several members of the G League Ignite team.
Instead, Bennedict Mathurin got the chance to be his hometown hero as the Indiana Pacers guard led Team Jalen to victory in Friday night's NBA Rising Stars game.
Mathurin scored 18 points and hit the game-winning shot in the semifinal against Team Tamika before contributing in a balanced effort against Team Detlef in the final.
For his efforts, Mathurin was named the game's MVP and drew numerous MVP chants from the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd throughout the games.
“It was fun. It was fun to see, to receive these chants,” Mathurin said. “The Rising Stars Game, I feel like I haven't really felt that feeling in the NBA. One day I want to be MVP, so it was awesome to get that feeling pretty early in my career.”
Under the new Rising Stars format launching in 2023, rookies, sophomores and select G Leaguers are divided into four teams. Teams play semi-final matches against each other with a target score of 40 before the final moves to 25.
In the final, a rested Jalen team jumped out to an early 10-4 lead and controlled the game from there, finding a quick finish with back-to-back 3-pointers from New Orleans Pelicans guard Jordan Hawkins and from Oklahoma City forward Jalen Williams. win 26-13.
This is the second Rising Stars victory for Mathurin; he was part of the Pau team which won the event in 2023.
Mathurin, who had teammates Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner and Obi Toppin sitting on the court, had a chance to win the semifinal with two free throws in the first game, but the 82.5 percent free throw shooter missed both.
On the next descent, he made sure to make up for it with a reversal for the win.
“I saw a few shots go in and I was like, that’s it,” Mathurin said of what motivated him in the first game. “If I'm completely honest, it's my city too. I had to make sure I brought it home. So that was the main thing for me.”
Wembanyama and Team Pau were unable to overcome Team Detlef in their semi-final, despite 11 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks from the Spurs rookie. Team Detlef led by 12, but the Gasol-led team cut the lead to three late on. In the end, G League Ignite forward Matas Buzelis, eligible for the 2024 NBA Draft, nailed a jumper to give his team the victory.
“It was fun,” Buzelis said. “It was good to compete with the best guys in the world and show my talent. I'm excited for the future.”
On the game-winning shot, Buzelis knocked down an offensive rebound from Aldones Williams – who is under a two-way contract with the Miami Heat – after missing a long 3-point attempt.
“I got the rebound and worked on my post game, my post fade,” Buzelis said. “I feel like I can make that shot every time. So I took it and it went in.”
Despite the defeat, the weekend is not over for Wembanyama, who will take part in the Skills Challenge on Saturday evening.
“I mean, it was a little weird because at the same time, I want to win and I hate to lose, but at the same time, I have so much going on and I'm happy to have one thing taken away from the list this weekend.” Wembanyama said.
