Fourth victory in five games in this “road trip” for Lebron James’ Lakers who managed to stay the course without trembling too much last night on the Toronto floor. Led by the returning RJ Barrett, the Canadians held out for a good half before breaking down, but not without fighting.
Everything started well for Darko Rajakovic's men with a 12-4 powered by the Quickley-Dick duo. But this good start encouraged Darvin Ham's team to get up to speed. The response was not long in coming since the Lakers went 18-4 with D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Davis in all the good shots to finish the first act at +9 in the score, on a crazy tap from Jaxson Hayes ( 25-34).
A fatal 11-0
Javon Freeman-Liberty and RJ Barrett tried everything to keep the Raptors in the game, until the pressure of LeBron James who went from passer to scorer with three layups, the last of which he snatched to have the ” and-one.” The show of force allowed the Lakers to increase the gap to +13 (35-48). On the verge of giving up, Toronto held on until the break, responding to Spencer Dinwiddie's two 3-point baskets thanks to the Quickley-Barrett-Olynyk trio (58-64).
The rest, however, was less glorious for the locals who quickly conceded an 11-0 after returning from the locker room with LeBron James in the role of handyman (64-78). The King then launched a series of 3-pointers relayed by Austin Reaves and Max Christie before letting Anthony Davis finish the job on two lay-ups which this time propelled the Raptors to the ropes (74-95). Toronto did not demobilize afterwards, but the Lakers were simply too strong for this developing squad which then fell behind by up to 33 points in the last act to finally lose 128-111.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The effectiveness of LeBron James. Building on his 9/10 3-point performance to fuel his 40 points in the previous match in Brooklyn, the King kept the same dynamic, distinguishing himself by his efficiency with the ball in hand, to finish (10/12 shooting, 1/1 at 3-points), or making his teammates shine with 9 assists for a single lost ball in 29 minutes of playing time. At the age of 39, he fully participated in the sequences which allowed the Lakers to swing the game in the second and third quarters.
– The last word for Jaxson Hayes. The slender pivot was shaken by Mouhamadou Gueye in the first quarter, when the latter stuck him with a counter before slamming a huge dunk on a bright pass from Jordan Nwora. Jaxson Hayes then responded a few moments later with a monstrous dunk over Gueye, guilty of a foul on the spot while the interior of the Lakers found himself on the ground. In addition to leaving with the victory, Jaxson Hayes took advantage of the end of the match without any issues to offer himself the last word with a magnificent dunk after having passed the ball between his legs, instinctively triggering a shiver in the spans of Scotiabank Arena.
– The Raptors are sinking. The series continues for Toronto, which is in its 14th consecutive defeat after last night's setback. Despite the result, Darko Rajakovic will still be able to be satisfied with the content which was very good considering the level of his team and the opposing team. We saw some very good offensive phases, a collective which attacked together and a ball which moved rather well. Once again, he lacked consistency and intrinsic quality. But there is clearly a good basis to prepare for next season.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
