Bennedict Mathurin and Tyrese Haliburton will aim to ride the momentum of their best outings of the young season when the Indiana Pacers visit the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.
Mathurin recorded career-high totals in points (38) and 3-pointers (seven), and Haliburton added a season-best 35 points and 14 assists in Indiana’s 132-121 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday. The two combined to make 24 of 36 shots from the floor for a staggering 66.7 percent.
“Tyrese was amazing in this game,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him more determined in a regular-season game than this one.”
Carlisle also had kind words for Mathurin.
“Benn Mathurin was absolutely breathtaking. Efficient, tough physically.”
The win was the third in the past four games for the Pacers, who will face Orlando for the third time already in the young season.
Haliburton contributed 19 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in Indiana’s 119-115 setback to the Magic in Orlando on Oct. 28. He added 17 points in a 118-111 victory over the Magic in Indianapolis last Wednesday.
Mathurin mustered just five points in 14 minutes in the first meeting before collecting 20 points and 11 rebounds in the rematch.
Indiana likely will need more of the same from Mathurin and Haliburton given its injury woes, notably with respect to Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard.
Nesmith will be sidelined until at least December with a sprained ankle, while Nembhard will miss two weeks due to a sprained knee.
Coupled with the season-ending Achilles injuries to centers James Wiseman and Isaiah Jackson, the Pacers find their backs against the wall in the early going of the season.
“NBA coaching is resourcefulness and problem solving,” Carlisle said. “We haven’t had this level of guys out for quite a while.”
The Magic remained perfect at home this season (5-0) with their 114-89 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday in the opening round of Group A play in the NBA Cup.
Orlando answered a winless five-game trip by taking the first three contests of its five-game homestand.
“This is why we keep talking about process,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “During the losing streak, we were getting the right shots, getting to the paint, doing the things we needed to do, we were defending at a decent clip, and now you put it all together with the ability to make some shots, get the stops that you need to, turn them over the right way. … You can’t keep chasing and worrying about the result as much as you worry about the work you’re doing.”
Orlando’s Franz Wagner scored a season-high 32 points to go with eight rebounds and five assists before sitting out the entire fourth quarter.
Wagner has at least 20 points in five consecutive games, including 28 to go with eight rebounds and six assists in last Wednesday’s encounter in Indianapolis.
