LAS VEGAS— Gabe Vincent hit a 3-pointer and scored. And then Vincent hit his next three, and his next three, and his next, giving him four threes in a row.
Vincent was delighted with the start of the game Lakers during an exhibition game against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Before Vincent could even think about making his fifth three-pointer, Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg smothered him. Vincent tripped and fell while trying to keep the ball under control. He did so and passed it to his teammate.
When Vincent got to his feet and returned the ball, the fans started shouting, “Shoot!” So Vincent did it, hitting his fifth 3-pointer over the outstretched hand of Flagg at 6-9, drawing even more cheers from the Lakers fans.
Vincent was fouled on his sixth three-point attempt, sending him to the free throw line for three free throws, all of which he made. That gave Vincent 18 points in what seemed like a flash in the first quarter.
He missed the next two or three attempts, but it didn't seem to matter to the public. Vincent put on a show.
Vincent finished the game with 22 points on 6-of-15 shooting and 6-of-11 on 3-pointers during the game against the Lakers. loss with a score of 121-94 The Mavericks, who saw Los Angeles outscored 37-8 in the fourth quarter.
“I just wanted to be aggressive,” Vincent said. “Obviously we were missing a few guys. We knew we needed to play a little faster and I just wanted to come out and be aggressive and look for my shot. The guys found me early. They came in. That's always helpful.”
He was part of the Lakers' starting group of Rui Hachimura (19 points), Jackson Hayes (12 points, 10 rebounds), Jared Vanderbilt and Dalton Knecht. Neither played in Tuesday night's game in Phoenix.
Vanderbilt had a good all-around game until he was forced off the field late in the second quarter with a left quad contusion after hitting his left knee on a Mavericks defender. He limped back and forth on the court, but was still able to dunk after being injured and hit a three-pointer.
But with five minutes and 39 seconds left in the second quarter, Vanderbilt limped back into the Lakers locker room and never returned to the game. He had five points, seven rebounds and four assists in 13 minutes.
“He can be a really impact guy on both sides of the ball,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said of Vanderbilt. “You can see he's moving better than he was last season. You can clearly tell he's spent a lot of time this summer working on his game… Having the ability to guard multiple positions on the perimeter, be a shooter and hopefully a high-end corner spacer and cutter… He can do a lot.”
The Lakers' starting five against the Suns – Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia – did not play in back-to-back games against the Mavericks, Doncic's former team, which traded him to the Lakers in February. Redick said Bronny James did not play because of a sprained ankle.
The Lakers will wrap up their preseason against the Sacramento Kings on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena, and it appears Doncic and those who didn't play against the Mavericks will play against the Suns.
“And then Friday, yeah, the plan is to have another dress rehearsal and probably play most of our guys,” Redick said before the game. “I don’t know the total number of minutes, but that’s the plan.”
The Lakers open the regular season Tuesday at home against the Golden State Warriors.
