Wednesday night was very good for Montreal friends Bennedict Mathurin and Luguentz Dort.
Mathurin provided 20 points and the Indiana Pacers won 125-113 in Charlotte, improving their record to 7-6.
In Washington, in a game in which Ontarian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 42 points, Dort turned on a big hand with 16 points.
Gilgeous-Alexander hit a three-pointer with 1.1 seconds on the clock to give the Thunder a 7-8 lead.
Selected sixth in June, Mathurin scored the Pacers’ first 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Tyrese Haliburton had 22 points and 11 assists, leading the NBA in assists.
Indiana is 6-2 as of Oct. 28.
The Pacers will play again Friday night in Houston.
In Washington, OKC ended a four-game hitting streak for the Wizards.
Bradley Beal gave the Wizards a 120–118 lead with a medium-range field goal, with six seconds left. But with 1.1 left, Gilgeous-Alexander hit the mark from beyond the perimeter.
The Hamilton athlete has provided 37, 37 and 42 points in his last three games.
Gilgeous-Alexander is fifth in the NBA with 31.5 points per game.
On the last play of the game, Dort did a great job blocking Beal, who wanted to take a long throw, but the ball was deflected out of bounds, leaving no more chances for the Wizards.
Dort is averaging 17.2 points in five games.
The Quebecer was 3-of-6 on long shots on Wednesday.
For five games, Dort has a 46% success rate in this aspect.
The Thunder will be back in action Friday night in Memphis.
Rookie of the Year in 2021, LaMelo Ball of the Hornets re-injured his left ankle, stepping on a fan’s, trying to recover a turnover.
An ankle injury meant he missed the first 13 games of the season. It was a third fight in 2022-23.
The Hornets’ record fell to 4-12.
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