Indiana Pacers rookies Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard win Rising Stars event at NBA All-Star weekend
Indiana Pacers rookies Andrew Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin helped Team Pau win the Rising Stars event at NBA All-Star weekend on Friday night.
The event, which is a mini tournament with three total games, features some of the best young talent in the NBA and contains first and second year players as well as a G League unit. NBA legends Pau Gasol, Deron Williams, Jason Terry, and Joakim Noah coached the four teams.
Nembhard and Mathurin were teammates on Team Pau, and their first battle was against Team Deron. The game was played until one of the teams reached 40 points, and Team Pau dominated. They won with a final score of 40-25, and Mathurin had seven points while Nembhard had two. Nembhard also had one of the highlights of the game with a slick pass to Jose Alvarado.
In the finals, the two Pacers guards represented Team Pau against Team Joakim. Both squads battled to reach 25 points first.
The game was closer, but Team Pau emerged victorious. After scoring the first points of the game for his team, Mathurin ended up passing the ball to Alvarado on the right wing for the game-winning bucket. The final score was 25-20.
"It's a first taste of what I want to do for the rest of my career," Bennedict Mathurin said of the action on Friday, per the Pacers. "I'm going to put in the hard work to one day be an All-Star."
Across the two games, Mathurin finished with 14 points, two rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Nembhard, meanwhile, had two points, one rebound, three assists, one steal, and one block.
Both Mathurin and Nembhard could be back in the event next year as second year players. If so, they will get a chance to defend their title. Alvarado was named MVP of the event.
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