INDIANAPOLIS — Bennedict Mathurin scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Pacers to a 127-118 win over the Hornets at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and snap an eight-game losing streak on Wednesday night.

The Pacers improved to 2-13, which is still the worst start in franchise history. The Hornets fell to 4-11 with their fourth straight loss.

Forward Pascal Siakam scored 22 points and dished out seven assists. Center Jay Huff recorded 20 points, five rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Guard Andrew Nembhard had 16 points and seven assists. Guard Ben Sheppard had 15 points and point guard T.J. McConnell had 14 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

Here are three observations.

Jay Huff breaks out on both ends

On one two-possession sequence early in the third quarter, Jay Huff posterized Hornets center Ryan Kalkbrenner with a one-handed dunk and then splashed a 28-foot 3-pointer to force a Hornets timeout. Every player on the Pacers’ bench wanted a piece of him, throwing all manner of high-fives and chest-bumps in his direction.

By that point, Huff already had played arguably his best all-around game as a member of the Pacers and one of the best in his NBA career and there was still about 20 minutes of basketball left. His performance, at least in miniature was everything the Pacers hoped for from Huff when they got him from the Grizzlies in a July trade shortly after Myles Turner left for the Bucks in free agency.

The Pacers targeted Huff because he could stretch the floor with his outside shooting and also protect the rim. Prior to Wednesday’s game, Huff was shooting just 37.5% from the floor and 26.5% from 3-point range, making just 13 of 49 attempts after hitting 81 of 200 (40.5%) for the Grizzlies last year.

But Huff hit his first two shots in the first period including a 3, found a rhythm and rode it. By halftime he had 10 points on 3 of 5 shooting including 2 of 4 from 3-point range and he was also making an impact on the defensive end. the Pacers were mixing in some 2-3 zone when he was in the game to keep him close to the rim and he recorded three blocks at the break. Then in the first six minutes of the third, Huff went off for 10 more points on 4 of 6 shooting including a pair of 3-pointers. He didn’t score any more but finished with 20 points on 7 of 13 shooting including 4 of 9 from 3. The Pacers were +17 in his minutes.

Bennedict Mathurin keeps it up in second night of return

After returning Monday from an 11-game absence for a right great toe sprain, Bennedict Mathurin wondered aloud why the pacers couldn’t respond to losing 13 of their 14 games by going off and winning 10 in a row. That might not be on the way, but Mathurin’s explosive scoring is at least giving the Pacers a puncher’s chance.

The fourth-year wing started Wednesday’s scoring with a deep 2 on the first possession and then hit a 3 9:49 to go in the first. He scored 11 second-quarter points to get to 16 on 5 of 7 shooting at halftime. He had eight more points in the third to get to 24. He didn’t score after that, but grabbed 12 rebounds and had a critical defensive play that led to a missed Hornets layup off a turnover. He hasn’t scored fewer than 24 points in a game this season and is averaging 27.8 per game.

Mathurin’s addition to the offense helped the Pacers post their most efficient scoring performance of the season. They set season-bests in field goal percentage (.541), 3-pointers (16), 3-point field goal percentage (.421) and offensive efficiency (1.26 points per possession.)

Jarace Walker, Ben Sheppard show much-needed improvement

Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard, classmates in the 2023 draft, have seen their opportunities increase dramatically due to all the injuries in the Pacers’ backcourt and on the wings. However, both had struggled with the increased responsibility.

Walker entered Wednesday’s game averaging a career high 10.0 points per game, but that was largely the product of volume. He was shooting just 29.8% from the floor and 26.4% from 3-point range. Sheppard was averaging 6.4 points per game, making just 31.4% of his field goals and 22.4% of his 3s.

Both made positive impacts on Wednesday, however, and looked much more like themselves. Walker scored nine points on 3 of 6 shooting, hitting 3 of 4 3-pointers. Sheppard scored 15 on 5 of 10 shooting. He hit a 3-pointer but was more important on runouts and he also recorded four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

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