Indiana Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin said prior to the season that the NBA player he was most looking forward to playing was Oklahoma City Thunder guard Lu Dort.
On Wednesday, Mathurin had his first opportunity to face him.
Mathurin and Dort were born in Montreal and represent a growing brand of Canadian basketball in the NBA. Mathurin played for Canada in the 2021 FIBA Under-19 World Cup and Dort competed in the Olympic qualifying tournament in 2021.
The first matchup in the NBA went to Dort and the Thunder.
Dort recorded his second double-double of the season with 22 points, 11 rebounds and one assist in the 126-106 win. Mathurin produced 13 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes in his sixth start of the season.
The game had a special meaning for each.
“It was an honor for me,” Mathurin said. “The kids who were watching the game … It was a great thing for Montreal but also for the Haitian community to have two Haitian Canadians playing against each other in the NBA was a great thing.”
Said Dort: “Neither him nor me would expect us to be here in the NBA and playing against each other,” Dort said. “He has been doing so well, too. He is definitely going to stay in the league for a long time, which is big, not only for us but for the whole city of Montreal.”
The two players were matched up on each other quite a bit.
Mathurin held Dort to three points on 1-of-5 shooting from the field as his primary defender. On the other end, Mathurin managed just two points with one made field goal on three attempts with Dort guarding him.
Dort even had one block on Mathurin.
“Obviously, he is a great defender,” Mathurin said. “Having great defenders like him, I’m trying to keep the game simple and try to involve my teammates the right way and make the simple play every time.”
Mathurin and Dort train together during the summers, and even linked up last year to catch a game in the Canadian Elite Basketball League. They will likely be teammates for years come with the national team as the country looks to solidify its place on the international level.
The matchup on Wednesday was the first of many between the two Canadians. Playing in different conferences, they will only see each other twice a season but the battles should be worth watching.
“From where we grew up, it wasn’t easy,” Dort said. “To have each other’s back and to be here and represent our people — Canada, Haiti and Montreal — it is just big. We’re going to keep doing that.”
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Story originally appeared on Rookie Wire