With a 116-107 win in Recreation 3 of the 2025 NBA Finals, the Pacers have taken a 2-1 sequence lead vs. the Thunder. Indiana’s bench outscored the Thunder, 49-18, on Wednesday night.
Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin got here off the bench and scored a team-high 27 factors. He was 2-3 from past the arc and 7-8 from the charity stripe. After Recreation 1, Invoice Simmons of The Ringer stated Mathurin “appeared comfy within the chaos.” He stated he wouldn’t be stunned if Mathurin scored 27 factors in 22 minutes this sequence. Wildly, that was his actual stat line in Recreation 3 of the 2025 NBA Finals.
Invoice Simmons couldn’t have been extra correct in predicting Benndict Mathurin’s stat line
Invoice Simmons after sport 1: “I’m questioning are we going to listen to from [Mathurin] on this sequence… you realize when Mathurin could have these video games the place he scored 27 factors in 22 minutes, I really feel like he’s gonna have a kind of”
Guess what?
Mathurin had 27 factors in 22 minutes… pic.twitter.com/YwRWZlxS3L— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) June 12, 2025
Bennedict Mathurin scored a playoff career-high 27 factors for the Pacers in Recreation 3 of the 2025 Finals. He was Indiana’s main scorer on Wednesday regardless of coming off the bench and solely taking part in 22 minutes. Mathurin was 9-12 from the sphere, together with 2-3 from past the arc and 7-8 from the free throw line. Credit score is because of The Ringer’s Invoice Simmons for completely nailing Bennedict Mathurin’s state line for Recreation 3.
After Recreation 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals, Simmons stated that Mathurin appeared comfy and underneath management towards OKC. He predicted that Mathurin may have a sport the place he scored 27 factors in 22 factors. That’s precisely what the 22-year-old did in Recreation 3. Invoice Simmons couldn’t have been extra proper about his prediction. He was intrigued by Mathurin’s upside on this explicit sequence, and the younger ahead had a career-best playoff sport.
The previous first-round decide has scored 20+ factors in 4 of the Pacers’ 19 video games this postseason. That features his playoff career-high 27 factors in Recreation 3. Mathurin is a gifted scorer off the bench for Indiana. He’s somebody head coach Rick Carlisle has been in a position to depend on within the 2025 playoffs. He’s simply certainly one of a number of key position gamers who come off the bench for the Pacers and make a significant influence. Recreation 4 of the NBA Finals is Friday at 8:30 p.m. EST.