Game 3 of the 2025 NBA Finals will effectively be looked back upon as the ‘Bennedict Mathurin Game.’
In just the 18th game of his playoff career, the Pacers’ third-year reserve wing enjoyed a breakout performance, fueling his team’s 116-107 victory to take a 2-1 series lead over the Thunder. Mathurin displayed his trademark efficiency, scoring 27 points in 22 minutes off the bench, leading all scorers despite playing in under a half’s worth of action.
After missing Indiana’s playoff run with an injury in 2024, Mathurin is working to make up for lost time. The 22-year-old’s role has fluctuated throughout the postseason, but he’s remained ready when his number is called upon, and Wednesday’s showing is the third-highest output from a reserve in the NBA Finals.
What Mathurin achieved fueled a widespread effort for Indiana’s second unit, which outplayed Oklahoma City’s reserves in the crucial game. With the Pacers just two wins away from the first title in franchise history, Mathurin’s contributions could end up being a turning point.
Here’s more on Mathurin’s breakout game and how it flipped the series through three games.
MORE THUNDER-PACERS GAME 3:
Bennedict Mathurin Game 3 stats vs. Thunder
Mathurin scored a game-high 27 points on 75.0 percent shooting from the field, adding four rebounds, an assist, and a block in 22 minutes of action. The performance sets a new postseason career-high for Mathurin, who entered the game averaging 10.3 points during the playoffs.
- 27 points
- 4 rebounds
- 1 assist
- 1 block
- 1 turnover
- 9-12 (75.0%) FG
- 2-3 (66.7%) 3FG
- 7-8 (87.5%) FT
As the stat line shows, Mathurin did a bit of everything in Game 3. He got going early with his activity as a cutter and found ways to score off the bounce and the creation of others. Mathurin’s 27 points off the bench were the most for a reserve in the NBA Finals since Jason Terry scored 27 in 2011.
Most Points Off the Bench in an NBA Finals Game
Sam Cassell (Rockets, 1995 – Game 2) 31
Fred Brown (Supersonics, 1978 – Game 1) 30
Bennedict Mathurin (Pacers 2025 – Game 3) 27
Jason Terry (Mavericks, 2011 – Game 6) 27
Manu Ginobili (Spurs, 2007 – Game 4) 27— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) June 12, 2025
He scored his first seven points in three minutes of action and never looked back.
BENN MATHURIN LEADS ALL SCORERS!
🏁 27 PTS (playoff career high)
🏁 9-12 FGM
🏁 Youngest player to score 25+ PTS off the bench in the Finals (since recorded in 1970-71)@Pacers take a 2-1 NBA Finals lead 👏 pic.twitter.com/delHSkcuac— NBA (@NBA) June 12, 2025
Pacers vs. Thunder Game 3 bench stats, highlights
While the Thunder aren’t shy to flex their depth, it was the Pacers’ depth that made the difference. Mathurin was the biggest standout, but T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin also made massive plays, especially during the fourth quarter.
- Bennedict Mathurin: 27 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST
- T.J. McConnell: 10 PTS, 5 AST, 5 STL
- Obi Toppin: 8 PTS, 7 REB, 2 BLK
McConnell’s signature inbound steal played a large role in an early fourth-quarter run, while Toppin had a major putback slam that extended a late-game lead to seven points.
“HE’S DONE IT AGAIN!”
Andrew Nembhard gets the bucket and T.J. McConnell snatches the inbound and turns it into two more 🔄 pic.twitter.com/4YsYOtRn0V
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 12, 2025
Obi Topping COMING THROUGH for the putback slam late in Q4 to add to our lead 😤😤 pic.twitter.com/GBDCh1ZsDB
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 12, 2025
Here’s how the above performances contributed to overall bench statistics:
| Stat | Pacers | Thunder |
| Points | 49 | 18 |
| Rebounds | 14 | 10 |
| Assists | 7 | 6 |
| Steals | 7 | 3 |
| Blocks | 3 | 0 |
| FG-FGA (%) | 18-34 (52.9%) | 6-13 |
| 3P-3PA (%) | 2-9 (22.2%) | 4-5 (80.0%) |
| FT-FTA (%) | 11-12 (91.7%) | 2-2 (100.0%) |
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