Tyrese Haliburton explains his hands-on-head disbelief reaction to Bennedict Mathurin's 'crazy' dunk
Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin raced to the Indiana Pacers’ end of the court late in the fourth quarter on Sunday. Following a missed layup by Washington Wizards guard Malcolm Brogdon, Myles Turner grabbed the loose ball to start the fast break. Turner went to his left to pass the ball to Mathurin, who executed a windmill dunk over Bilal Coulibaly.
Haliburton, who watched the play unfold, put his hands over his head in reaction to Mathurin’s rim-rattling slam. The All-Star guard said about his teammate’s dunk:
“That was crazy. That was crazy. I wasn’t expecting that. It’s good to see, though.”
The slam by Bennedict Mathurin was the exclamation point in the Pacers’ 115-103 win. Indiana had a 113-103 lead following Pascal Siakam’s 26-footer with 54.1 seconds left. Alex Sarr grabbed the offensive rebound following Brogdon’s missed layup. The rookie, though, committed an error, as his pass went to Myles Turner.
Tyrese Haliburton and the crowd inside Gainbridge FieldHouse likely anticipated a layup by Mathurin, as the outcome had been decided. The shooting guard, though, entertained fans with a stunning dunk.
The explosive Mathurin has had some impressive dunks in his career, but this in-game slam is one of the best he has executed.
Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin played key roles in the Pacers’ 115-103 win over the Wizards
Tyrese Haliburton finished the game with 21 points, nine assists, four rebounds and two steals.
What didn’t show on the box score, though, was how he calmly orchestrated the Indiana Pacers’ play and dictated the tempo of the game. Haliburton involved everyone in the floor, which resulted in six other players hitting double-digit scoring.
Bennedict Mathurin didn’t have a good shooting night, contributing 16 points on 4-for-12 shooting, including 1-for-6 from deep. The athletic guard, though, put constant pressure on the Wizards with aggressive drives to the basket. He went 7-for-8 from the free throw line, the most in the game.
Up next for the Pacers is a matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans at home on Monday night.