INGLEWOOD — It was a homecoming for some, a home debut for another and a house party for Clippers guard Bennedict Mathurin on Wednesday night against the Indiana Pacers.
Former Clippers Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown were back at the Intuit Dome after being traded a month ago, receiving a warm welcome from Clippers fans, while those same fans got their first look at new point guard Darius Garland.
And Garland, who came to the Clippers from the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for James Harden, didn’t disappoint the home crowd.
But it was Mathurin who was most excited to see his former teammates, many of whom he played with in his three-plus seasons with the Pacers. The No. 6 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft was traded to the Clippers in exchange for Zubac, Brown and draft picks.
“They’re not my friends, not tonight anyway,” he said before he went out and torched the Pacers for 20 points.
Amid the reunions and tributes, the Clippers had a game to play against the short-handed Pacers and came away with a 130-107 victory to move within one game of .500 at 30-31.
Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting, including three 3-pointers, and had eight rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes.
Mathurin added 20 points and eight rebounds, while Brook Lopez had 17 points, Derrick Jones Jr. scored 12 and Garland finished with 12 points, eight assists and four rebounds in 24 minutes in his second game with his new team.
The Pacers overcame a 23-point deficit in the first half to cut the Clippers’ lead to 67-60 with 8:57 left in the third before Leonard and Lopez went to work to extend the lead to 83-62 at the 5:11 mark.
The Clippers continued to outplay Indiana and pushed the lead to 100-71 with 42 seconds left in the third. The Pacers (15-46) didn’t come close in the final quarter, trailing by as much as 37 points.
Zubac and Brown found many friends in the building on their return a month after being traded to the Pacers. Both players’ spaces in the visitors’ locker room were decorated with pictures of their time with the Clippers.
Zubac played for the Clippers for six-plus seasons, where he established himself as a premier center, a mainstay of the team’s interior defense and a fan favorite. He was clearly remembered by the crowd, which gave him a rousing ovation after watching a video tribute.
Zubac didn’t play Wednesday because of the left ankle sprain he suffered in the Clippers’ Dec. 20 victory over the Lakers. He tried to play through the injury before the trade deadline, but the Pacers have opted to rest the big man. He is expected to play at some point this season, but “he’s not there yet,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.
Brown, the No. 30 pick by the Clippers in the 2023 draft, came off the bench and had five points and two rebounds.
After the former players got their flowers and Mathurin got a look at his former teammates, the Clippers went to work dismantling the Pacers, running out to a 23-point first-half lead before the Pacers closed the gap with a 14-3 run late in the second quarter.
By halftime, the Clippers’ lead had been sliced to 63-51.
The Pacers came into the game on a six-game losing streak and sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. But Carlisle wasn’t throwing in the towel.
“There’s more growth to be had by this roster, particularly the younger guys,” Carlisle said. “And we have some very competitive games down the stretch.”
Leading scorer Pascal Siakam, who missed the past three games because of a left wrist sprain, led the Pacers’ attack, scoring 21 of his team-high 29 points before halftime. Indiana remains without Tyrese Haliburton, who is missing the entire season after suffering a torn Achilles in the NBA Finals last June.
Not all the news was good for the Clippers. Rookie center Yanic Konan Niederhauser left the game after injuring his ankle while landing awkwardly while attempting to block a shot in the second quarter.
More to come on this story.
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