LeBron James was confident once he saw who was taking the final shot.
The Los Angeles Lakers picked up Luke Kennard at the deadline for moments like this.
They pulled off their ninth-straight victory Saturday night after a tight matchup against the Orlando Magic ended in a 105-104 victory, despite a second quarter scoring surge by Orlando.
With just 4.7 second left, the Lakers found themselves down by two. Paolo Banchero blocked a layup attempt by LeBron James that would have tied the game and sent the ball flying out of bounds. Before the Lakers planned on inbounding, head coach JJ Redick called for a timeout to regroup with his team.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luke Kennard (10) reacts with center Jaxson Hayes (11) guard Austin Reaves (15) forward Jake LaRavia (12) and forward LeBron James (23) after hitting a game winning basket at the buzzer against the Orlando Magic in the fourth quarter at Kia Center. Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn ImagesWhat happened next was a plan that couldn't haver gone any better. Marcus Smart inbounded the ball and as the entirety of the Orlando defense crashed toward the baseline to defend against another game-tying layup attempt, Kennard was left wide open beyond the arc, right where he wanted to be.
James Not Surprised
Smart hurled the ball to him and without a though Kennard pulled up and sank the dagger.
"When I turned and saw the ball was in his hands in a wide-open three, I pretty much knew it was cash," James said about Kennard's game-winner (via Lakers Muse on X).
There was still some time left, so the Lakers couldn't get too ahead of themselves when it came to celebrations, but that didn't stop the whole team from mobbing Kennard on the court as Jared Suggs attempted a full court Hail Mary shot that came up short.
Kennard is the newest Laker after being traded to Los Angeles from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Gabe Vincent and a 2032 second-round pick. Since then, Kennard has slotted in perfectly as a compliment to the Lakers' offense, averaging 8.6 points off the bench and shooting 46.2% from the field.
Kennard Changing the Game
The Lakers picked him up because he is statistically the best three-point shooter in the NBA at 48.6% and having that kind of threat as an asset off the bench is a huge part of diversifying their offense and adding even more weapons from the outside to pair with long range specialists like Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
How the final seconds of Saturday's game unfolded is just further proof of Kennard changes the offense. The Magic had to worry about threats from James on the inside of the paint so much that the thought of guarding Kennard wasn't even an option, giving them the opportunity to do what he's best at.
The energy at the Lakers' back right now is looking as good, if not better, than it did when they were surging a the beginning of the season and with Kennard's game-winner at their backs, the momentum in Los Angels is trending toward the top of the league.