Benedict Maturin of the Clippers makes franchise history with a nuclear game against the Nuggets
When is it Los Angeles Clippers traded James Harden and Ivica Zubac, they made it clear they were remodeling instead of completely rebuilding. Steve Ballmer invested about $2 billion in Intuit Dome, so he won’t want to hit the reset button. Instead, the organization injected youth into the NBA’s oldest team. Rookie Benedikt Maturin electrified the crowd in LA’s first home game since those aforementioned trades, making history in a 115-114 win against the Denver Nuggets.
The former Indiana Pacers wing, who moved to the Zubac deal, erupted with a career-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 a new scoring record for a Clippers player making his home run debut and also matching a career high, according to ClutchPoints reporter Tomer Azarly. That was not all.
Fittingly, Mathurin outshot Jamal Crawford by most points reserve in his debut in LA. This team has a new offensive spark plug, and he’s only 23 years old. After making an underwhelming first impression against the Houston Rockets last Wednesday, the young Canadian won over legions of Clippers fans, beating out a number of contenders that included Nikola Jokic, Kawhi Leonard and Jamal Murray.
Benedict Maturin 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 under .500, and Darius Garland has yet to suit up. While this may not be what the city envisioned, excitement is definitely in the air after this hard fought win.
2026-02-20 06:59:00
