The Los Angeles Lakers won a crucial clash against the Toronto Raptors 123-103 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles to improve their record to 6-4 while the Raptors slid to 2-8.
LeBron James posted another triple-double and ended the night with 19 points (6-14 FG), 10 rebounds, and 16 assists while Austin Reaves led the team in scoring with 27 points (10-17 FG) and six assists. Anthony Davis left the game in the fourth quarter with an eye injury but scored 22 points (6-8 FG) prior to that. D’Angelo Russell had another great performance as the team’s sixth man, scoring 18 points (6-13 FG) in the win.
The Raptors didn’t match up well enough to hold the Lakers at bay, being led by RJ Barrett’s (5-15 FG) and Chris Boucher’s (6-9 FG) 18-point nights. Jakob Poeltl had 14 points (7-12 FG) and 10 rebounds while surprise story Ochai Agbaji continued his strong run of form with 16 points (5-7 FG) and six rebounds.
Here are three keys behind the Lakers’ winning this matchup.
Point LeBron Is Back And Thriving
LeBron James might have defied everyone’s expectations of what longevity looks like but it’s clear that Father Time has started slowing him down. He isn’t a guaranteed 20-point scorer anymore, cracking that mark seven times in ten games this season. As James continues to evolve his game to suit his physical capabilities, relying on his playmaking as his biggest offensive tool led the Lakers to this win.
James got off to a slow scoring start (0-3 in the first quarter) and committed to impacting the game with his playmaking. He connected with Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, and more to dish 16 assists in a season-high on just three turnovers all game.
Ever since JJ Redick reclassified D’Angelo Russell as the team’s sixth man to add Cam Reddish to the starting unit, LeBron has increased his on-ball load as a playmaker. Over the last two games since Russell’s benching, James has put up 29 assists (14.5 per game).
Even though he is officially starting games as the team’s small forward, this is the most engaged we’ve seen LeBron as a playmaker since 2019-20 where he led the league by averaging 10.2 assists per game.
Jaxson Hayes Held The Fort After Anthony Davis Got Hurt
Anthony Davis went out with an eye injury with five minutes left in the third quarter while the Lakers were trailing by three points, creating mass worry for the fans that they were going to lose this game and have Davis sidelined once again. Jaxson Hayes had played just six minutes in the game when he checked in with no points or rebounds on the box score, but he excelled under pressure and helped the Lakers seal the win.
Hayes ended the night with 12 points (4-6 FG), six rebounds, one assist, and one block, with all stats except the block coming after he replaced Davis in this game. He was impactful as a rim deterrent and made the most of opportunities at the line by going 4-6 over the game. He ended the night with a team-high +21, showing JJ Redick and the Lakers that they can rely on him as a backup.
The team as a whole looked great for the first time this season without Davis, as they effortlessly transferred his offensive load to LeBron and Reaves while Hayes used his athleticism at the center spot to keep the Raptors uncomfortable and maximize his opportunities whenever he got them.
Cleaning Up Sloppy Turnovers
JJ Redick had slammed the Lakers after some of their early losses this season for playing sloppy basketball, with the team turning the ball 20 times in their loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers, 19 times in the win against the Sacramento Kings, and 13 times against in the loss against the Detroit Pistons. Tonight, they had just five turnovers as a team, with three coming from LeBron in a 16-assist night.
The Lakers’ ball movement had a lot of purpose and rarely saw players simply throwing the ball away if passing lanes were cut off or in careless fast-break situations. The Raptors pushed the perimeter as hard as they could but the Lakers played with on-ball discipline that we haven’t seen otherwise this season.
Cleaning up their turnovers while forcing the Raptors to commit 16 of their own made a huge impact in the win, as the Lakers overcame adversity after trailing in the third quarter to walk away with a dominant 20-point win.
The Lakers will host the in-form Memphis Grizzlies next while the Raptors head to the Fiserv Forum to face the Milwaukee Bucks.
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