Scott Polacek@@ScottPolacekFeatured Columnist IVJanuary 16, 2025
Justin Casterline/Getty Images
The NBA announced Wednesday it suspended Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin for one game without pay.
Mathurin was suspended for “making inappropriate contact with and verbally abusing a game official” during his team’s 127-117 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday. He will sit out Thursday’s game against the Detroit Pistons.
Mathurin was ejected from the game and issued a rare three technicals during a single contest.
As Jack Maloney of CBS Sports explained, he was called for a foul on Evan Mobley in the fourth quarter and started to complain to referee Natalie Sago. As she went to the scorer’s table to confirm the call, the guard clapped in her face and bumped her as he was complaining.
He was issued two technicals and ejected, bringing his total to three.
Mathurin was also given a technical foul for hanging on the rim after a dunk earlier in the game.
“The heat of the game kind of got me heated,” he told reporters in the aftermath.
The first technical foul was questionable at best, although Maloney noted crew chief Zach Zarba told a pool reporter it was assessed because Mathurin was “doing a pull-up or a chin-up on the rim where his whole head was above the rim.”
Had it not been for the ejection and three technicals, it would have been a solid night for Mathurin. He finished with 19 points, four rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block while shooting 8-of-12 from the field and 3-of-6 from deep.
It wasn’t enough to defeat the Cavaliers, but it was an impressive performance against the team atop the Eastern Conference standings.
Mathurin will look to play well again when he returns to the lineup for Indiana’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.
