Kennard shines in his Laker debut.
The Los Angeles Lakers picked up a solid 105-99 win over the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday night, but the bigger story might have been the debut of their newest addition.
Luke Kennard, acquired from the Atlanta Hawks at the trade deadline for Gabe Vincent and a future second-round pick, suited up for the first time in purple and gold and wasted no time making an impact.
Kennard Soaks in the Moment
After the game, Kennard talked about what it meant to take the floor for one of the most storied franchises in basketball.
"It's huge to play in a place like this; I mean biggest stage in basketball is something special," Kennard said.
That feeling showed up in his play right away.
Kennard drilled his first shot as a Laker, a high-arching three-pointer late in the first quarter off a kickout from Austin Reaves, and he never looked back.
He finished the night with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc to go along with two rebounds, two assists and a steal in 26 minutes off the bench.
Kennard also came up big down the stretch when it mattered most.
The Warriors had cut the lead to just 89-88 with six minutes left in the fourth before he buried a corner three out of a timeout to push the lead back to four and swing momentum back in the Lakers' favor for good.
Head coach JJ Redick pointed to Kennard's basketball IQ as a reason the fit worked right away.
A Boost the Lakers Needed
The Lakers have been one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league this season, and Kennard's arrival addresses that weakness directly.
Before the trade, he was shooting a league-best 49.7 percent from three with the Hawks while averaging 7.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in about 20 minutes per game across 46 appearances.
His career mark of 44.2 percent from deep makes him one of the best shooters in NBA history, and he gives Luka Doncic and LeBron James another reliable target when defenses collapse on their drives.
James led the way on Saturday with 20 points and 10 assists, while Rui Hachimura added 18 and Reaves chipped in 16 and eight assists as the Lakers leaned on balanced scoring to pull away.
The win moved Los Angeles to 32-19 on the season and fifth in the Western Conference while extending their winning streak to three games.
Warriors Fall Short Without Stars
The Warriors played without Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler on Saturday night and still managed to hang around for most of the game, even holding a lead at halftime.
But Golden State could not keep up the pace in the second half as the Lakers' depth wore them down, and the loss drops the Warriors to 28-25 on the year and eighth in the Western Conference heading into the All-Star break.
For the Lakers, the early returns on the Kennard trade look promising. If he can continue to space the floor at that clip, this team could be a tough out come playoff time.