When the Los Angeles Clippers traded James Harden and Ivica Zubac, they made it clear that they were rebuilding rather than completely rebuilding. Steve Ballmer invested nearly $2 billion in Intuit Dome, so he might not want to hit the reset button. Instead, the organization has added youth to the NBA's oldest team. Newcomer Benedict Mathurin thrilled the crowd in LA's first home game since the aforementioned trades, making history in a 115–114 win against the Denver Nuggets.
The former Indiana Pacers wing, who was included in the Zubac deal, scored 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. According to ClutchPoints reporter Tomer Azarli, he set a new scoring record for a Clippers player debuting on his home field and also matched a career high. That was not all.
Appropriately, Mathurin passed Jamal Crawford for most points by a reserve in his LA debut. This squad has a new offensive spark plug, and he is only 23 years old. After making an impressive debut against the Houston Rockets last Wednesday, the young Canadian won over Clippers fans by outclassing several competitors, including Nikola Jokic, Kawhi Leonard and Jamal Murray.
Benedict Mathurin will be a restricted free agent this summer, but it stands to reason Los Angeles will want to lock him up for the foreseeable future. Tyronn Lue's team is now just one game below .500, and Darius Garland still isn't in tune. Although it's not what City had envisioned, there is certainly excitement in the air after this hard-fought victory.
