NBA Summer League: Mathurin adds 20 points against Pistons

PARADISE, Nev. — Bennedict Mathurin excelled again in the NBA Summer League on Tuesday, scoring 20 points in a 101-87 Indiana Pacers win over the Detroit Pistons.

Drafted sixth last month, the Montrealer was playing a third game in Las Vegas, after providing 23 and 15 points on July 8 and 10.

His average is 19.3.

On Tuesday, Mathurin tallied 13 points in the first half, also finishing the game with five rebounds and three steals. He missed just one in 10 free throws.

The six-foot-six, 210-pound athlete spent two seasons with the University of Arizona.

The Pac-12 Player of the Year, Mathurin improved his points per game average from 10.8 to 17.7 from his rookie season to the second.

He turned 20 on June 19.

Mathurin grew up in the same corner of the city as his good friend Luguentz Dort, an impact player with the Thunder for three years.

The other Quebecers on the Silver circuit are Chris Boucher and Khem Birch, of the Raptors. Of the lot, only Mathurin was fished out.

Since 2014, Indiana has been beaten in the first round five years in a row, failing to reach the playoffs on other occasions.

In reconstruction, the team is coming off its worst season since the mid-1980s, going 25-57.

Indiana had a lot of success in the 1990s, with Reggie Miller and Mark Jackson in particular.

The Pacers will face off against the Wizards on Friday night.

After that they will play at least one more match during the weekend.