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INDIANAPOLIS -- Pacers third-year wing Bennedict Mathurin is listed as questionable for Game 5 of the first round of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs against the Bucks with an abdominal contusion after missing Game 4 with the injury.
Mathurin suffered the injury in Game 3 in a collision with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said Sunday that Mathurin struggled to sleep and to eat after the game Friday but that his condition improved Saturday and Sunday.
The Pacers are up 3-1 in the series and have a chance to clinch in Game 5 on Tuesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith is listed as probable with back soreness after coming down hard after a critical block on Sunday's Game 4. Center Isaiah Jackson is still out with an Achilles tendon tear. Bucks All-Star guard Damian Lillard was officially ruled out with his own Achilles tendon tear and Bucks wing Tyler Smith is listed as doubtful with an ankle sprain.
Mathurin finished third on the Pacers in scoring (16.1 points per game) and rebounding (5.3 per game). He started 49 games at shooting guard and small forward and though he was moved to the bench in February to bring Nesmith back into the starting lineup at small forward he still got several spot starts due to injuries afterward.
Mathurin is averaging 15.9 points per game in his career and is the third-leading scorer among members of the draft class of 2022. He also posted the third-highest rookie scoring season in Pacers history in 2022-23 and became the first Pacer since Rik Smits in 1989 to earn first-team All-Rookie honors.
In Mathurin's absence Sunday, second-year wings Ben Sheppard and Jarace Walker both played over 21 minutes off the bench. Walker scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range, grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists. Sheppard hit a 3-pointer and had three rebounds and the Pacers won 129-103.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Bennedict Mathurin injury update: Will Pacers forward play in Game 5
Continue reading...
Mathurin suffered the injury in Game 3 in a collision with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said Sunday that Mathurin struggled to sleep and to eat after the game Friday but that his condition improved Saturday and Sunday.
The Pacers are up 3-1 in the series and have a chance to clinch in Game 5 on Tuesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith is listed as probable with back soreness after coming down hard after a critical block on Sunday's Game 4. Center Isaiah Jackson is still out with an Achilles tendon tear. Bucks All-Star guard Damian Lillard was officially ruled out with his own Achilles tendon tear and Bucks wing Tyler Smith is listed as doubtful with an ankle sprain.
Mathurin finished third on the Pacers in scoring (16.1 points per game) and rebounding (5.3 per game). He started 49 games at shooting guard and small forward and though he was moved to the bench in February to bring Nesmith back into the starting lineup at small forward he still got several spot starts due to injuries afterward.
Mathurin is averaging 15.9 points per game in his career and is the third-leading scorer among members of the draft class of 2022. He also posted the third-highest rookie scoring season in Pacers history in 2022-23 and became the first Pacer since Rik Smits in 1989 to earn first-team All-Rookie honors.
In Mathurin's absence Sunday, second-year wings Ben Sheppard and Jarace Walker both played over 21 minutes off the bench. Walker scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range, grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists. Sheppard hit a 3-pointer and had three rebounds and the Pacers won 129-103.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Bennedict Mathurin injury update: Will Pacers forward play in Game 5
Continue reading...
