Tuesday night at home against the Toronto Raptors, the Los Angeles Lakers looked to generate momentum following a decisive victory over the L.A. Clippers.
A victory would return the Lakers to.500 on the season, and they achieved precisely that by squeezing past the opposition 132-131.
The Lakers’ Anthony Davis scored the team’s first five points, but the rest of the lineup struggled, allowing the Raptors to take an early 9-5 lead prior to Cam Reddish’s three-pointer.
Early in the contest, Davis diligently performed defensively against a lesser Raptors squad that was without starting center Jakob Poeltl. Subsequently, Christian Wood entered the game and promptly contributed five consecutive points for Los Angeles.
Upon an exchange of three-pointers by Davis and former Laker Dennis Schroder, the Lakers took a 28-24 lead at the conclusion of the first quarter.
D’Angelo Russell initiated the second half with a three-pointer, but both teams subsequently stalled. LeBron James did not score until he attempted a three-point attempt and converted it midway through the second quarter. From the logo, James then hit a deep one to increase Los Angeles’s lead to eight.
From that point forward, the Raptors’ R.J. Barrett and Immanuel Quickley performed admirably offensively, giving the team a 53-51 intermission lead.
The Lakers’ carelessness with the ball to start the third quarter enabled Barrett’s three-pointer to extend the Raptors’ lead to seven. From that point on, both Taurean Prince and Reddish responded with triples, which was crucial given that Quickley then connected on consecutive shots from deep.
From that point forward, James made consecutive layups, one of which was a three-point play, and Prince added another three-pointer to force a Raptors timeout and bring the Lakers within two points.
Subsequently, Russell and Max Christie each hit triples, and Jarred Vanderbilt and Russell completed in transition to extend the Laker lead to 84-78. However, under Schroder’s leadership, the Raptors closed out the quarter strongly to enter the fourth with a narrow 89-88 lead.
Wood’s two triples to start the fourth quarter were instrumental in the Lakers regaining the lead. James tied the game at 105 with a three-pointer as Davis regained its offensive prowess and maintained a close-knit position.
Quickley ultimately incurred costly fouls that negatively impacted his team, culminating in a flagrant to foul out of the contest. This allowed the Lakers to reclaim the lead, and after a sluggish start to the night, Austin Reaves finally contributed offensively.
Despite hanging around, the Raptors fell behind by one point in the dying seconds. However, Davis came up enormous for Los Angeles with a block followed by two free throws. Subsequently, the Raptors committed an error, which enabled the Lakers to secure the victory.
Despite Davis’ clutch free throws that sealed the game, Toronto closed out the contest with late foul shots that remained within reach.
