Myles Turner likened Indiana Pacers teammate Bennedict Mathurin to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant after a huge win over the Boston Celtics.
The Pacers survived an almost catastrophic collapse at home to Boston on Wednesday, letting a 24-point third quarter lead slip as the Celtics forced overtime thanks to Jayson Tatum’s go-ahead three at the death.
The visitors fell flat in overtime and it was Indiana who battled hardest to claim their second win of the season and hand the Celtics, the team who swept them in the Eastern Conference Finals, their first loss.
Mathurin, selected with the 6th overall pick by the Pacers in 2022, has began year three in style – the highlight a double-double of 30 points, 11 rebounds and four assists over the defending champions to snap a three-game losing streak.
The 22-year-old was named to the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team in 2023 and he’s the second-leading scorer for Indiana so far this season, averaging 15.8 points a game.
After the game, Pacers center Turner tweeted an image of Mathurin alongside NBA legends Jordan, who won six championships with the Chicago Bulls and Bryant, who won five with the Los Angeles Lakers.
— Myles Turner (@Original_Turner) October 31, 2024
Pacers topple Celtics in dramatic overtime encounter to avoid embarrassment
After blowing such a massive lead, the Pacers took that disappointment and channeled it into something great during overtime, outscoring the Celtics 11-8 thanks to a couple of big buckets from Pascal Siakam inside the final 40 seconds.
Boston were moved out of the win column for the first time this season, despite huge efforts from Tatum and Jaylen Brown who couldn’t quite find the sweet spot from outside the arc.
Tyrese Haliburton continued his underwhelming start to the year, shooting 7/19 from the field and 2/10 from deep, but his 12 assists alongside a big three in overtime proved class is permanent.
