November 2 – Anthony Davis had 38 points and 11 rebounds and the visiting Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Toronto Raptors 131-125 on Friday night.
LeBron James added 27 points, six rebounds and 10 assists for the Lakers, who had lost their two previous games to start a five-game road trip, their first of the season.
Austin Reaves scored 20 points and D’Angelo Russell contributed 19 points. Both Reaves and Russell added six assists.
RJ Barrett had 33 points and 12 assists for the Raptors, who have lost four in a row. Gradey Dick added a career-best 31 points and Jakob Poeltl had 19 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Davion Mitchell scored 10 points, while Ja’Kobe Walter had five points and six rebounds in his NBA debut.
The Lakers led 43-19 after the first quarter after shooting 69.6 percent (16-for-23) from the field.
Reaves (knee) left the game with 5:48 to play in the first half but returned in the second half.
James had assists on consecutive baskets starting with a behind-the-back pass to Davis. He then set up Dalton Knecht and fed Davis again for a spectacular dunk that put the Lakers ahead 74-49 with 32 seconds left in the half. Davis completed the first-half scoring with two free throws to give the Lakers a 76-51 lead.
The Lakers shot 62.2 percent (28-for-45) in the first half while Toronto shot 22-for-56 (39.3 percent) from the field. But the Raptors turned it around in the second half and ended up outshooting Los Angeles 48.6 percent to 47.7 percent for the game.
Toronto clawed back in the game with a 37-23 advantage in the third quarter. The Raptors opened the third quarter with a 9-2 run, but Davis answered with four straight points. Poeltl’s layup trimmed the margin to 13 points with 5:44 remaining in the third.
The Lakers led 99-88 after three quarters, but Barrett’s three-point play with 8:32 left in the fourth cut the lead to six.
Rui Hachimura hit two consecutive 3-pointers to give the Lakers a 12-point lead with 6:50 remaining in the fourth. Russell’s 3-pointer bumped the margin to 115-100.
Toronto responded with a 6-0 spurt, but Russell scored another five key points with less than three minutes left to keep Los Angeles with a 12-point cushion. Dick’s 3-pointer cut the lead to six with 1:02 left, but the Raptors would get no closer.