Dorian Finney-Smith shined in a game where the Los Angeles Lakers’ Big 3 struggled to score.
Despite a tough shooting night for most players, the Los Angeles Lakers managed to register a 104-98 win over the Houston Rockets.
Usually, the Big 3 of LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves carry the offensive burden for the team.
However, against the Rockets, the trio combined for just 48 points with only Doncic reaching the 20-point mark. Thankfully, the Lakers’ supporting cast stepped up for head coach JJ Redick.
Since getting traded to the Lakers, Dorian Finney-Smith has established himself as a fan-favorite player. A key reason behind that is DFS’ ability to take his game up a notch when the team is in trouble.
He did just that with a 20-point scoring night against the Rockets, which featured two clutch free throws as well. The Lakers Nation loved Finney-Smith’s impressive outing and had nothing but praise for him.
“Unsung heroes tonight were him and Gabe Vincent.”
“Huge. Absolutely huge.”
“Dorian really showed up tonight.”
“Best fourth option right now.”
“Just what we needed from him tonight!”
“DFS in playoffs mode.”
Aside from Finney-Smith, a few fans also praised Gabe Vincent, who also had 20 points in the game. All things considered, having such talented role players is what makes the Lakers a dark horse candidate to reach the Western Conference Finals.
Doncic, Finney-Smith, and Vincent were tied as the top scorers for the Lakers. Even among them, Finney-Smith was the most efficient player as he finished the night with 46.2% from the field, including a 54.5% showing from deep.
Keeping that in mind, Doncic revealed in the postgame interview that he urged DFS to shoot more as the veteran forward apparently passed up multiple open-look shots.
“Very good. I told Doe he gotta shoot more. He was open like three or four more times, [but] he didn’t want to shoot. So that’s what I told him [keep shooting],’” Doncic revealed.
Considering Doncic and Finney-Smith share a bond from their Dallas Mavericks days, Luka wanted the 31-year-old to trust his shooting stroke.
While DFS didn’t nail those extra looks, he also put up a defensive masterpiece with 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 3 blocks to his name.
