Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin suspended for 1 game after bumping into official, ejection in loss to Cavaliers

The NBA suspended Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin for one game after he made contact with and verbally abused a game official in Indiana’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night, the league announced Wednesday.

Mathurin will serve his suspension Thursday, and will be eligible to return Saturday when the Pacers host the Philadelphia 76ers.

Mathurin was ejected in a chaotic moment late in Tuesday’s 127-117 loss to the Cavaliers. He was called for what appeared to be an obvious foul of Evan Mobley, who was going up for a layup when Mathurin drilled him across the arm and knocked him to the ground.

Mathurin immediately followed Natalie Sago, the official who made the call, to the scorer’s table and bumped into her while yelling at Sago. Those actions resulted in an automatic technical foul and, as it was his second of the game, an ejection.

Mathurin said he went to apologize to Sago after the game, and that “the heat of the game kind of got me heated,” Mathurin said, according to Forbes’ Tony East.

The league suspended him for one game as a result.

Mathurin finished with 19 points and four rebounds in the loss after shooting 8 of 12 from the field. The 22-year-old has averaged 16.5 points and six rebounds per game this season, his third in the league after the Pacers took him with the No. 6 overall draft pick in 2022 out of Arizona.

The Pacers hold a 22-19 record heading into Thursday’s game in Detroit. Tuesday’s loss to the Cavaliers snapped a six-game win streak.