SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Quebec’s Bennedict Mathurin shone at the opening of NBA All-Star Weekend. He and his teammates from Team Pau won the Rising Stars Mini Tournament Friday night in a festive atmosphere at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.
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The rhythmic finale of “Rising Stars” was marked by a seven-point performance from Mathurin, who led the winning team who would receive 25 points.
Mathurin, who was the first scorer in the final, shone with a three-point shot that gave his team a 12-9 lead, which ended up beating Team Joakim 25-20.
The Montreal-North athlete also stirred the crowd with a bold pass that Toronto Raptors’ Scottie Barnes redirected well to the basket. The game ended with a three-point shot from the New Orleans Pelicans’ Jose Alvarado.
As for the atmosphere, lights, music, dancers, cheerleaders and distinguished guests in the crowd including several current NBA stars. Remember that the skill competition and the star game take place at the same location on Saturday and Sunday.
seven more points
Mathurin also opened the scoring himself in the first game of this competition, which brought together the NBA’s ‘rising stars’. After a visit to the bench, the Pacers player started the second half of the game. The Montreal native scored a total of seven points in that first meeting, which had a target score of 40 points. Team Pau, named after coach Gasol, defeated Team Deron 40-25 to reach the final.
Winner of the other semi-final against a club of G-League players, Team Joakim faced Mathurin and his companions in the final game.