The Los Angeles Clippers had their first preseason game of the year on Sunday in Hawaii, taking on the Golden State Warriors. The Clippers managed to pull out the victory, 104-101.

The contest was closely contested and came down to Keaton Wagler hitting what turned out to be the game-winner to put the Clippers up 102-101.

It was a memorable moment for Wagler in a game where he otherwise struggled.

Wagler played 30 minutes, in part due to Max Strus suffering an injury five minutes into the game, but shot 3-for-15 from the field and 1-for-11 from three. Having a rough shooting night didn’t prevent Wagler from taking the game-winning shot and knocking it down.

Speaking after the game, Wagler discussed his shooting struggles, but how he stuck with it.

“It’s just all the work that I put in throughout the years. And my teammates were saying to me, ‘Keep shooting it no matter what.’ Makes or misses. This is preseason. This is the time to get better. And the only way to get better is to shoot shots. Just went out there, tried to play free, play confident. Shots didn’t really fall tonight but I stayed confident the whole game,” he said.

Preseason is the time to get your feet under you and adjust to the speed of the game as a rookie. Wagler probably had to play more minutes than intended due to Strus suffering an injury.

His teammates telling him to keep shooting should be good for his confidence, especially when he knocked down the biggest shot of the game after such a tough night.

Wagler was likely going to start the year coming off the bench as Strus is a more versatile fit next to Darius Garland, but the injury to Strus could put Wagler into an immediate starting role.

The Clippers drafted him with the thought that he can play next to Garland in a long-term role, believing his shooting and creation could fit next to Garland better than the likes of Darius Acuff Jr. or Mikel Brown Jr., who fell into that next tier of players after the top four picks.

If Strus misses time, and with Brandon Ingram sidelined to start the year, Wagler is going to be thrust into the fire to help lead an offense that is likely going to struggle.

All of this should benefit Wagler in the long term, as he’ll be able to work through the growing pains and immediately build chemistry with Garland.