The Los Angeles Lakers returned to the court on Sunday night, hosting the Toronto Raptors in what was a rematch from last week’s contest when L.A. held on for a win.
The Lakers were looking to stay undefeated at home and improve to 6-4 on the young season and they were able to do exactly that with a 123-103 win.
Anthony Davis and Rui Hachimura scored the first nine points for the Lakers as the rest of the starters struggled and the Raptors jumped out to a 15-9 lead after a three-point play by R.J. Barrett.
After JJ Redick called a timeout, Austin Reaves banked in a triple and then Davis continued to attack the basket to get the Lakers back within one. After a poor close to the quarter by the Lakers though, the Raptors led 34-26 thanks to a buzzer-beater by Davion Mitchell.
LeBron James had a quiet first quarter but started to get going in the second with a pair of buckets, including a three-point play. Turnovers and transition defense continued to be an issue for the Lakers, however, and Redick was forced to burn another timeout with the Raptors taking their first double-digit lead.
The Lakers needed a strong close to the half and they got it as Cam Reddish and D’Angelo Russell buried back-to-back triples to head into the locker room with a slim 55-53 deficit.
Unfortunately, that run did not carry over into the third as Gradey Dick made a pair of triples and Immanuel Quickley made one as well to get Toronto’s lead back to nine.
Reaves had an immediate response with five quick points and that gave energy to his team and the arena. James then finished a slick layup while Davis beat the shot clock buzzer with a triple and then had a massive block on the other end.
Davis got hit in the face on the block and was forced to go back to the locker room, eventually being ruled out for the rest of the night. His teammates kept the run going, however, as Dalton Knecht drilled a corner 3 to give the Lakers the lead. After Reddish beat the third quarter buzzer with a layup, L.A. went into the fourth with an 88-82 lead.
That lead quickly got to double digits to begin the final quarter as LeBron found Jaxson Hayes for a pair of dunks. The trio of James, Reaves and Hayes seemingly took over from there, executing the offense to perfection without Davis available to continue extending the lead and close out the victory.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers will now get a couple of days off before they host the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night in what is another rematch of a recent game.
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