When the Los Angeles Clippers traded James Harden and Ivica Zubac, they made it clear they were retooling instead of outright rebuilding. Steve Ballmer invested approximately $2 billion in the Intuit Dome, so he will not want to hit the reset button. Instead, the organization has injected youth into what was the oldest team in the NBA. Newcomer Bennedict Mathurin electrified the crowd in LA's first home game since those aforementioned trades, notching history in a 115-114 win versus the Denver Nuggets.
The former Indiana Pacers wing, who came over in the Zubac deal, erupted for a game-high 38 points in 34 minutes off the bench while shooting 54.5 percent from the field and recording five rebounds, four assists and three steals. He sets the new scoring record for a Clippers player making their home debut and also matches a career high, per ClutchPoints reporter Tomer Azarly. That was not all.
Fittingly, Mathurin surpassed Jamal Crawford for the most points by a reserve in their LA debut. This squad has a new offensive spark plug, and he is only 23 years old. After making an underwhelming first impression last Wednesday versus the Houston Rockets, the young Canadian won over legions of Clippers fans by outshining a crop of competitors that included Nikola Jokic, Kawhi Leonard and Jamal Murray.
Bennedict Mathurin will be a restricted free agent this summer, but it stands to reason that Los Angeles will want to lock him up for the foreseeable future. Tyronn Lue's team is now just a game below .500, and Darius Garland has yet to even suit up. While this may not be what the city envisioned, excitement is definitely in the air following this hard-fought victory.
