Bennedict Mathurin has been suspended by the league for his Nick Van Exel impression on Tuesday night.
The NBA announced on Wednesday that they are suspending the Indiana Pacers swingman Mathurin for one game without pay due to his actions in Tuesday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In their release, the league cited Mathurin “making inappropriate contact with and verbally abusing a game official” as the reasons for the suspension.
The incident occurred with under four minutes to go in the fourth quarter on Tuesday against Cleveland. Mathurin was called for a foul on Cavs big man Evan Mobley in transition and protested against the call. He clapped his hands in frustration at referee Natalie Sago, who blew the whistle, and eventually bumped her from behind and directed profane language at her.
Here is the video.
Bennedict Mathurin gets ejected after bumping referee Natalie Sago! pic.twitter.com/XqvBJNJFqn
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) January 15, 2025
Another angle of the play can be viewed below.
Bennedict Mathurin has been ejected from Pacers-Cavs after bumping into referee Natalie Sago after already getting technical foul
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 15, 2025
The former No. 6 overall pick Mathurin, who is averaging 16.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game this season, was called for a technical foul on the spot and ejected from the game (since it was his second T of the night). Indiana went on to lose to Cleveland by a 127-117 final score.
Mathurin, 22, will serve his suspension on Thursday against the Detroit Pistons. The NBA has a zero-tolerance policy for making contact with the referees, even suspending players from playoff games before for doing so.
