Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin carried off floor after right ankle injury vs Houston Rockets

Mathurin fell to the court in pain during the first quarter on Thursday

Indiana Pacers rookie guard Bennedict Mathurin injured his right ankle in the first quarter of the Pacers battle with the Houston Rockets on Thursday night.

The play occurred with 1:30 to go in the first quarter. Mathurin was driving to the basket looking for a layup and badly rolled his ankle while shooting between Tari Eason and Usman Garuba. He immediately fell to the floor in pain.

Here’s the injury to Bennedict Mathurin. Pretty bad ankle roll: pic.twitter.com/qrFZx7kknX

— Zach Pearson (@zapearsonNBA) March 10, 2023

At the time, Mathurin had played for three minutes in the game and had yet to achieve any stats.

Mathurin laid on the floor reaching for his ankle for a few moments before his teammates surrounded him. He was under the basket on the North end of Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Shortly after, a few Pacers players, including James Johnson, carried Mathurin off the court and back to the locker room.

Within a few minutes, the Pacers announced that Mathurin had a right ankle sprain and would be questionable to return to the action.

Mathurin is in the Rookie of the Year conversation and has appeared in all 66 games for the blue and gold so far. He is averaging 16.9 points per game.

"I'm blessed from beyond to be healthy, to be able to play all 82 games," Mathurin said on February 22 after sharing that playing in every game was a goal of his this season. His status going forward will be key to the Pacers and their play-in tournament pursuit.

Update: The Pacers announced that Mathurin will not return tonight.

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