It took just 1 game to prove Lakers’ Luke Kennard-Gabe Vincent trade was a home run

On Saturday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers got off to a strong start to their series against the Houston Rockets with a comfortable home win in Game 1, getting the victory by a score of 107-98. Many big names were out of the lineup for this one, with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves sidelined for the Lakers, while Kevin Durant unexpectedly missed this one due to a knee injury for the Rockets.

The hero of the game for the Lakers was Luke Kennard, who scored 27 points on an efficient 9-13 from the field, also contributing four rebounds and three assists in the win. Kennard was brought in by the Lakers at the trade deadline in a deal with the Atlanta Hawks, sending out point guard Gabe Vincent in return.

Vincent, meanwhile, suited up for Atlanta in their Game 1 matchup against the New York Knicks on Saturday afternoon, and he didn’t have quite the same success as Kennard, registering just two points and two assists in fifteen minutes of action off the bench.

In fact, with the performance, Kennard already passed Vincent’s grand total of 21 playoff points for the Lakers, which he accumulated over 10 games, per ClutchPoints on X, formerly Twitter.

Of course, Kennard did step into a much bigger role than expected in Game 1 due to the absences of both Doncic and Reaves, but it was still an epic shooting display for a player that many thought wouldn’t be much more than an additional floor spacer off the bench for Los Angeles.

Instead, the Lakers now have the upper hand in the series heading into Game 2, and Rockets fans will be hoping desperately that Durant is able to return to the lineup for that matchup.

Game 2 is set for Tuesday at 10:30 pm ET.

The post It took just 1 game to prove Lakers’ Luke Kennard-Gabe Vincent trade was a home run appeared first on ClutchPoints.