The Los Angeles Lakers continued their road trip on Tuesday night, taking on the Toronto Raptors in what was essentially a must-win game.
Every game is important for the Lakers given the current landscape of the Western Conference. The Raptors came in losers of 13 straight, clearly in tank mode, and the Lakers were able to take advantage with a 128-111 victory to move to 4-1 on the road trip.
LeBron James found Anthony Davis for an alley-oop to begin the game, although it otherwise was a poor start for the Lakers as the Raptors went on a 10-0 run to take an early 12-4 lead with Immanuel Quickley making a pair of 3-pointers.
D’Angelo Russell had a nice response for the Lakers with a triple of his own, and then Rui Hachimura hit one as L.A. began to settle in. Russell connected from deep once again and then James had a layup to give the Lakers the lead.
The scoring for both teams slowed down considerably in the second half of the first quarter. Jaxson Hayes made an impact off the bench though, crashing the offensive glass as the Lakers ended the first on a run to take a 34-25 lead.
Hayes had a hard fall on his head at the end of the first quarter but was able to stay in the game. After back-to-back triples by Russell and Taurean Prince, the Lakers built their first double digit lead.
James was having his way with the Raptors in the second quarter, getting to the rim for easy buckets and also setting up his teammates. The same could be said for R.J. Barrett, however, as he got off to a nice start in the first half.
Spencer Dinwiddie got in on the action from deep with three triples, but the Raptors continued to hang around as the Lakers went into the halftime locker room leading 64-58.
The Raptors began the third with a couple of buckets before the Lakers got rolling again. James, Davis and Hachimura were scoring inside with ease, getting the lead back to double digits.
It was all Lakers from there as James and Davis completed three-point plays while Austin Reaves and Max Christie connected from deep. The Lakers’ run gave them a comfortable 100-79 lead going into the fourth quarter.
L.A. had no problem handling business in the fourth as Russell buried three more triples to put the game out of reach. The starters were able to enjoy some rest for a majority of the fourth quarter.
To cap off the night, Hayes put on a show with a between the legs dunk.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers will look to finish their road trip with an impressive 5-1 record when they take on the Washington Wizards in the second night of a back-to-back on Wednesday.
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