Mathurin shows frustration after controversial calls sink Clippers.
The Los Angeles Clippers came into Friday night's game against the Los Angeles Lakers riding high after a one-point win over the Denver Nuggets less than 24 hours earlier, but their momentum ran into a wall at Crypto.com Arena in a 125-122 loss that dropped them to 27-29 on the season.
Bennedict Mathurin put together another strong outing in his fourth game since being traded from the Indiana Pacers, scoring 26 points with seven rebounds and two assists before fouling out with 1:49 remaining.
After the game, the 23-year-old did not hold back when asked about the officiating.
"It's hard, man. You try to play hard and the game kinda stops on one side of the court more than the other," Mathurin said.
A Frustrating Night at the Line
His comments came after a game where the Lakers shot 20-of-25 from the free throw line, with Luka Doncic going 8-of-11 and Austin Reaves knocking down all seven of his attempts as the star duo combined for 67 points against the Clippers.
The Clippers actually got to the stripe more often with 29 attempts to 25, but Mathurin's frustration was echoed by head coach Ty Lue, who called out the Lakers for "foul baiting."
Mathurin himself went 11-of-14 from the line but picked up six fouls, with the final one coming on a controversial charge call against Reaves that Lakers coach JJ Redick called "the play of the game."
The NBA rescinded the technical foul Mathurin received earlier in the game on Saturday morning, but the damage had already been done in a contest decided by three points.
Mathurin's Hot Start in Los Angeles
Despite the loss and the foul trouble, Mathurin has been on fire since arriving in Los Angeles as part of the trade deadline deal that sent center Ivica Zubac to Indiana.
In his four games with the Clippers, Mathurin is averaging 22.3 points per game while getting to the free throw line at a much higher rate than he did during his time in Indiana.
The night before, Mathurin dropped a career-high-tying 38 points against the Nuggets in his Intuit Dome debut, setting a Clippers franchise record for most points in a home debut.
On the season between Indiana and Los Angeles, Mathurin is putting up 18.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, and his scoring has only gone up since joining a Clippers team that needed a boost after trading James Harden.
What's Next
The loss keeps the Clippers at 10th in the Western Conference, but this is a team that has gone 21-8 since its 6-21 start and looks nothing like the group that was being written off two months ago.
The 34-21 Lakers evened the season series at two games apiece, with Doncic, Reaves and LeBron James combining for 80 points and 24 assists in just their 11th game together this season.
The Clippers host the Orlando Magic on Sunday while the Lakers welcome the Boston Celtics to Crypto.com Arena, and for Mathurin, the focus now shifts to channeling his frustration into results as the Clippers fight to stay in the play-in race.