Teams need their stars to win championships. But they need their supporting cast along the way, their unsung heroes to step up in the unexpected moments.

Moments like Wednesday. And using heroes like Bennedict Mathurin.

If the Pacers earn their first NBA title — and closes out this upset that few outside of the Hoosier State saw coming — they can look back and point to Mathurin’s Game 3 performance as the effort that put them over the top.

The Pacers’ 116-107 victory over the Thunder put them in the driver’s seat for the first championship in their NBA history, up 2-1. And the leading scorer wasn’t Pacers talisman Tyrese Haliburton, or former champion Pascal Siakam or OKC’s newly crowned MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.