Gabe Vincent pulled up for a three-pointer and nailed it. And then Vincent nailed his next three—and his next three—giving him four straight made treys. Vincent was on fire to start the game for the Lakers during their exhibition matchup against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Before Vincent could even think about taking his fifth three-pointer, Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg smothered him. Vincent stumbled and fell, scrambling to keep control of the ball. He managed to hold on and passed it to a teammate. When Vincent got back to his feet and received the ball again, the fans began shouting, “Shoot it!” So, Vincent did just that, nailing his fifth three-pointer over the outstretched hand of the 6-9 Flagg, drawing more cheers from the pro-Lakers crowd.
Vincent was then fouled on his sixth three-point attempt, sending him to the free-throw line for three shots—all of which he made. That gave Vincent 18 points in what seemed like a flash during the first quarter. Although he missed his next two three-point attempts, it didn’t seem to matter to the crowd. Vincent had certainly put on a show.
He finished the game with 22 points on six-for-15 shooting overall and six-for-11 from beyond the arc. Despite his strong performance, the Lakers fell 121-94 to the Mavericks, who outscored L.A. 37-8 in the fourth quarter.
Vincent was part of a Lakers starting group that also included Rui Hachimura (19 points), Jaxson Hayes (12 points, 10 rebounds), Jarred Vanderbilt, and Dalton Knecht. Notably, none of these players participated in the game Tuesday night in Phoenix.
Vanderbilt was having an all-around solid game until he was forced to leave late in the second quarter with a left quad contusion after colliding with a Mavericks defender. Despite limping up and down the court, Vanderbilt was still able to score on a dunk after the injury and drained a three-pointer. However, with five minutes and 39 seconds left in the second quarter, he limped back to the Lakers’ locker room and did not return to play. He finished with five points, seven rebounds, and four assists in 13 minutes.
Lakers coach JJ Redick mentioned that Bronny James did not play due to a sprained ankle.
The Lakers will conclude their preseason against the Sacramento Kings on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. From the sounds of things, Luka Doncic and other players who didn’t play against the Mavericks are expected to suit up against the Suns.
“And then Friday, yes, the plan is to do another dress rehearsal and likely play most of our guys,” Redick said before Wednesday’s game. “I don’t know the minutes total, but that’s the plan.”
The Lakers open the regular season Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors at home.
https://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/story/2025-10-15/los-angeles-lakers-dallas-mavericks
