Super substitute! Average 15 points + 60% three-pointers, completely defeating the four defensive players of the Thunder, FMVP?

G3 in the finals, the Pacers defeated the Thunder 116-107, leading 2-1 with a big score! And the biggest contributor to this victory was not Halliburton or Siakam, but the substitute surprise - Benedit Mathering.

The 22-year-old young forward played for only 22 minutes and scored the highest 27 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block with a high efficiency of 9 of 12 shots, 2 of 3 points, and 7 of 8 free throws. The positive and negative value was as high as +16, completely changing the trend of the game.

This is not the first time that Matherin has performed well in the Finals. So far in the Finals, although Matherin averaged only 20 minutes per game, he can efficiently contribute 15.3 points, 3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, with a shooting percentage of 58.3%, a three-point shooting percentage of 60%, a free throw shooting percentage of 78.9%, and a real shooting percentage of 71.1%.

Such efficiency is extremely rare in the history of the NBA Finals, especially as a substitute.

What's more amazing is that Mathering's outbreak was not accidental - he scored by himself (27 points) even more than the total substitutes of the Thunder (18 points). The Pacers scored 49 points on the bench, while the Thunder bench only scored 18 points. This huge gap directly determines the outcome of the game.

In addition, he relied on his own to tear apart the top outside defense group in the Thunder League in a limited time. Facing Dortmund, who was the best team in the first team of defense this season, Matherin made 2 of 2 shots; against Jaylen Williams, who was the best team in the second team of defense, and against defensive champion Caruso, 4 of 5 shots, and even facing the defense of Thunder star Alexander, Matherin also made 2 of 3 shots.

These data intuitively show Matherin's "going strong when facing strong" on the finals stage, making the opponent's top defense useless.

Retrospective of Mathering's career, the No. 6 pick in 2022, showed strong scoring ability in his rookie season, averaging 16.7 points per game, was selected as the first team of the Rookie Team and won the Rookie MVP.

As an important firepower point on the Pacers' bench this season, he averaged 16.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists per game, making stable output for the team. In the playoffs, even though his playing time was compressed, his average score was still in double digits, his shooting percentage remained at 50%, and he maintained efficient performance. After winning G3, the Pacers' chances of winning the championship soared from 15% to 27%, while the Thunder plummeted from 85% to 73%. Historical data shows that the team that won the third game of the finals has a probability of winning the championship as high as 71.6%.

Now that the Pacers have a 2-1 lead, whether Matherin can continue to be a hot state, continue to conquer the team, and make great strides towards the championship trophy, will undoubtedly become a major highlight in the finals.