After a stout defensive performance against the Miami Heat, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers allowed 113 points to a shorthanded Toronto Raptors team and saw their seven-game winning streak snapped in the process.
Toronto was the more aggressive team throughout the night as they routinely pushed the pace for easy baskets and on the other end contested seemingly every shot at the rim.
The Lakers had a difficult time manufacturing any offense for stretches and it ultimately cost them in the end.
Davis recounted what went wrong for Los Angeles but remained optimistic about their outlook going forward.
“I think the 18 points in the third quarter… we gotta get our offense clicking. They killed us in transition. We had some good looks, we missed shots and they had some big plays. But we gotta be able to score the basketball a little bit more,” Davis shared.
“Our defense might not be there or they’re making tough shots but we’re fine. We’re still gonna hang our hats on defense, we’re gonna move the basketball. The zone was a little different, they threw a weird double team at me and I had some costly turnovers the entire game. I gotta be better there, but we’ll watch the film and see where we can get better.”
The Lakers entered the third quarter up eight points, but the Raptors found their groove on the offensive end as they began to hit more perimeter shots while also turning up their defensive intensity. Los Angeles offense stalled out after settling for several jumpers of their own which opened the door for Toronto to come back and seize control.
Davis finished the night with 27 points on 10-of-20 shooting in 38 minutes, but he was the lone bright spot on offense as the rest of his team struggled. LeBron James only managed to score 13 points while rotational players like Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope were held scoreless.
The defense has been the purple and gold’s saving grace in several games this season as they have been able to lockdown opponents in key moments but they failed to do so as the Raptors came up with all the hustle plays in the fourth quarter. Despite that, the Lakers looked like they were going to mount another late-game comeback after a pair of Kyle Kuzma three-pointers, but their transition defense allowed a couple of quick scores to Pascal Siakam that put the game out of reach.
Still, Davis and the Lakers have a good opportunity to get back in the win column when they face the Phoenix Suns on the road.
