The calling card for the Los Angeles Lakers has been defense, but against the Toronto Raptors, it disappeared — much like most of the supporting cast.
Anthony Davis finished with 27 points and eight rebounds while LeBron James posted his fourth triple-double in five games, but the Lakers gave up 61 points in the second half and allowed the Raptors to shoot 48.3 percent from the field. They fell to the Raptors, 113-104.
The Lakers made things hard on Pascal Siakam as he finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds, but shot just 9-of-25 from the field and 1-of-8 from three-point range. However, he was helped by his supporting cast who stepped up in the absence of Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka.
Fred VanVleet finished with 23 points and 10 assists while three Raptors reserves scored in double-figures including a career-high 15 points from Chris Boucher.
Kyle Kuzma continued to get more comfortable in his return from injury with 15 points, including a pair of three-pointers in the fourth quarter to help the Lakers make things close. Troy Daniels also added 11 points, but it just wasn’t enough as the team’s normally stout defense failed them on this night.
Things actually went well for Los Angeles early on as they raced out to an eight-point halftime lead. Unfortunately, things went Toronto’s way in the second half.
A strong third quarter allowed them to tie the game heading into the fourth where they began the final quarter on a 17-6 run forcing the Lakers to play catch-up down the stretch.
Danny Green had his worst game as a Laker against his former team being held scoreless in 27 minutes while Avery Bradley shot just 4-of-10 on the way to nine points. And while James did post another triple-double with 13 points, 15 assists, and 13 rebounds, he shot just 5-of-15 from the field, 0-of-2 from deep, and 3-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Despite the loss, there were still positives to take away for the Lakers. The team turned the ball over just 12 times, outrebounded the Raptors 51-43, and had 31 assists.
The loss did snap the team’s seven-game winning streak, dropping their record to 7-2, but they remain atop the Western Conference tied with the Denver Nuggets.
The Lakers will look to get back on the winning side of things as they face the Phoenix Suns on the road.
