Tuesday night saw the continuation of the Los Angeles Lakers’ road journey as they faced the Toronto Raptors in a game that was all but necessary to win.
With the state of the Western Conference right now, every game matters for the Lakers. The Raptors entered the game having lost 13 straight games and were obviously in tank mode. The Lakers took advantage of this and won 128-111 to improve to 4-1 on the road.
LeBron James set up Anthony Davis for an alley-oop to start the game, but other than that, the Lakers had a rough start to the game. Immanuel Quickley scored two 3-pointers as the Raptors went on a 10-0 run to establish an early 12-4 lead.
After Rui Hachimura scored a basket as Los Angeles started to get comfortable, D’Angelo Russell responded admirably to the Lakers with a triple of his own. After Russell made another long-range shot, James made a layup to put the Lakers up.
The second portion of the first quarter saw a significant slowdown in both teams’ scoring. However, Jaxson Hayes had an impact off the bench, smashing the offensive glass as the Lakers went on a run to grab a 34–25 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Despite taking a severe fall to his head at the conclusion of the first quarter, Hayes managed to continue playing. Following consecutive triples from Taurean Prince and Russell, the Lakers created their first double digit lead.
In the second quarter, James was dominating the Raptors, going to the rim for simple baskets and creating opportunities for his teammates. However, R.J. Barrett had a strong first half and the same could be said of him.
Spencer Dinwiddie contributed three three-pointers to the action, but the Raptors hung around as the Lakers led 64-58 heading into the locker room at halftime.
Before the Lakers resumed their winning ways in the third quarter, the Raptors scored a few buckets. With ease, James, Davis, and Hachimura were putting points in the inside, regaining a double-digit advantage.
From then on, it was all Lakers as Max Christie and Austin Reaves made deep shots, while James and Davis finished three-point plays. The Lakers entered the fourth quarter with a comfortable 100-79 advantage thanks to their run.
Russell sank three more triples to put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter, and L.A. had no trouble conducting business. Most of the fourth quarter was spent providing some much-needed rest to the starters.
Hayes put on a display with a between-the-legs slam to end the evening.
What happens to the Lakers next?
When the Lakers play the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night in the second game of a back-to-back, they will aim to round off their road trip with an amazing 5-1 record.