Bennedict Mathurin officially emerged as one of the breakout players of the season as he led the Indiana Pacers to a 132-121 rout of the New York Knicks on Sunday. During the win, Mathurin matched his career high by making seven three-pointers and scoring a personal-best 38 points against the Knicks.

Mathurin finished the game with 38 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists, shooting 72.2 percent from the field and 77.8 percent from three-point range, and helped the Pacers get a very important win to improve to 5-5 on the season.

“Mathurin was absolutely breathtaking,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said, via Dustin Dopirak. Indy Star. “Efficient. Physically strong. … When he runs the business the way he does today, he’s a bucket. He’s going to be a bucket.”

“It doesn’t feel forced,” Pascal Siakam said of Mathurin. “He feels like he’s a part of this offense. That’s where his growth will come from, finding ways to be killer at what we do. I think tonight was a perfect example of that. He’s a special player. When he gets things going like he did today, we need to give him the ball.”

Mathurin continues to show why he deserves to be a full-time starter with the Pacers. Mathurin has been a starter in 5 of the 10 games he has played this season and has previously started 17-19 games in the last two seasons, but he could eclipse that number if he continues to play like this.

Mathurin has averaged career-highs in nearly every statistic so far this season. Playing an average of 30.4 minutes per game, the player recorded averages of 19.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. He is also shooting 50 percent from the field and 55.3 percent from the field on the season.

“It was clear he had to sit out last year, he wanted to be on the field to experience that with us,” Haliburton said of Mathurin, via Dopirak. “It sucked he wasn’t there. You know who he is, how hard he works, what a good striker and player he is. It’s no surprise to anyone in the locker room.”

Pacers’ Rick Carlisle Admires Bennedict Mathurin After ‘Breathtaking’ Performance

Three results for Pacers against Knicks