Gabe Vincent On Big 3s In Lakers Win Over Knicks: 'That's Part Of Why I'm Here'
03/07/2025 03:08 PM
The Los Angeles Lakers were able to complete a thrilling overtime comeback against the New York Knicks on Thursday night for their eighth straight win in what was one of the best NBA games of the season. One huge reason they were able to get the victory was the great play of Gabe Vincent.
Vincent knocked down all four of his 3-point attempts, including a pair of massive shots late in the fourth quarter and afterwards noted that this was the reason the Lakers brought him in.
“It feels great,” Vincent said. “That’s part of why I’m here, you know what I mean? That’s part of why I’m here, because I’ve done it in those moments late in the season. Just trying to take that experience I’ve had and build and keep helping us win games.”
Vincent was a big part of the Miami Heat’s run to the NBA Finals in 2023, taking and making big shots deep in the postseason. Injuries killed his first season with the Lakers, but now he is giving this team what they need from him in their biggest games. And this kind of win against a team like the Knicks is exactly what the Lakers needed in Vincent’s eyes.
“We needed this test. We needed some adversity,” Vincent added. “We’ve been playing well, we’ve been rolling. But we went down in the first half and we had to come back and fight. We needed it to build that character.”
While the Lakers have had some close games during this recent stretch, most of them have been a matter of L.A. being ahead and trying to hold on. This was a contest in which the Lakers had to battle from behind and they did exactly that, in a playoff atmosphere against one of the best teams in the league. And Vincent knows how important that is as the playoffs get closer.
“For sure. I mean, it’s huge,” Vincent said of the atmosphere in the building. “Going into the playoffs, you gotta win some games in the mud so to speak. This game was a little bit in the mud, the Knicks are great at that. They really defend well, they made it a gritty, tough game. So it was a great test for us to go out there and fight and compete to get better the way we did."
The Lakers still have more tests ahead of them but they passed a big one against a real contender and Vincent was a big reason why, and will continue to be a big piece of this team going forward.
Gabe Vincent enjoys playing with Luka Doncic on the Lakers
Of course it was Luka Doncic and LeBron James leading the way for the Lakers in their victory and Gabe Vincent is enjoying watching and playing with Doncic and the other stars on the team.
“Absolutely. Even better to play with him,” Vincent said of Doncic. “Him, LeBron and AR, when they’re all on the court at the same time, it’s a handful.”
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