The Lakers are currently facing the Mavericks in their second-to-last preseason game. Gabe Vincent has started the first quarter with an absolute outburst within the first five minutes of the game. LeBron James, sidelined due to injury until November, saw this from the bench and took to social media to react to this heated run from his teammate.
“GV is going crazy right now!!! Sheesh 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥,” wrote James on X.
Vincent dropped 18 points in the first 4:09 of the game. He hit five consecutive threes without missing a single shot and then drew a three-point foul that sent him to the line. In the aftermath of this run, the Mavericks told the No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg to guard Vincent and shut him down.
GABE VINCENT IS ON FIRE 🔥
He starts 5-5 from outside & has 18 PTS in just 5 minutes on ESPN 🤯 pic.twitter.com/YmbrFQkqco
— NBA (@NBA) October 16, 2025
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin subsequently described this as similar to when LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, in their days with the Miami Heat, doubled Jeremy Lin during his Linsanity run with the Knicks. Several analysts also took to social media and described this run as similar to Jeremy Lin’s ‘Linsanity’ run.
An exceptional heater from the veteran Lakers guard who could be making a case to become the regular sixth man for the team this preseason. Coming off a rest in the last game, Vincent has been a solid contributor from the bench this preseason. He has averaged 14.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists while shooting 41.1% from the field. But following this game, it seems those averages will all shoot up now, if JJ Redick lets him play through this run.
The Lakers are set to face the Warriors on opening night without James, who is missing opening night for the first time in his career. The Lakers are resting Luka Doncic and multiple other starters for this game, and yet, with the start that the Lakers had to this game, they had the chance to come out on top, but failed to do so. They bottled the lead in the third quarter, and since the Mavericks had all the momentum going into the fourth quarter and most of their key players available, they went on a 37-8 run to close the game and beat the Lakers 121-96.
Gabe Vincent finished the game with 22 points in 25 minutes played, all of which he had scored in the first half as he cooled down in the second half. LeBron James is not expected to be back with the team until mid-November, and the Lakers would need as much help as they can get at the start of the season in their superstar veteran’s absence. Luka Doncic can do a lot, but there’s only so much he can do alone, and such performances from players like Vincent show signs that the Lakers are building a solid roster.
