Lakers News: LA Guards Power Team To Crucial Home Win Over Raptors
On Friday, LA was able to absorb a rare off night from Los Angeles Lakers star center Anthony Davis and win a huge game at home against the visiting Toronto Raptors, 122-112.
Returning starter D'Angelo Russell and his backup, Dennis Schröder, were the offensive stars of the shows. D-Lo scored a team-leading 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the floor (including a whopping 5-of-8 from deep) and 3-of-3 shooting from the charity stripe, dished out nine assists (against just four turnovers), pulled down five boards and swiped a steal for good measure.
Schröder scored 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting (3-of-6 from deep!), dished out seven assists (against a not-great six turnovers, but still), grabbed four steals and pulled down a rebound. He also finished with a team-high +32.
The Lakers employed a multifaceted offensive attack, dishing out 28 dimes overall and allowing five players to score in double figures: beyond Russell and Schröder, guard Austin Reaves had a big two-way night, while scoring 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor. Forward Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura each chipped in 16 efficient points.
The Raptors kicked off the festivities with a better first quarter, leading 35-31. LA turned things around in the second, outscoring Toronto 39-27 and heading into the halftime break up a smidge, 70-62, in a high-scoring start.
Vanderbilt showed off a surprisingly adept handle in this nifty crossover against Raptors All-Star Pascal Siakam:
Hachimura, who has had an erratic tenure with Los Angeles so far, enjoyed a terrific scoring night. This may have been the slickest moment:
Los Angeles recovered from a rough third quarter, in which the Raptors lapped the Lake Show 28-15, with a dominant 37-22 fourth quarter performance to ice the victory.
Russell's stellar playmaking and three-point shooting made him the man of the hour. By the middle of the fourth quarter, the Crypto.com Arena faithful could feel he was on a full-tilt heater:
Playing every second of the frame, Russell went a perfect 5-of-5 from the field in the fourth period (including 4-of-4 from deep) and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe for 16 points and +15. Schröder (10 points on 4-of-7 shooing) and Reaves (seven points on 3-of-4 shooting) were LA's other two big offensive contributors in the quarter.
Apparently D-Lo's fourth quarter success is a trend, not a glitch, as he is one of the two most efficient final frame scorers in the league, along with guess who:
Elsewhere in the fourth quarter, Schröder and Reaves flashed a solid two-many game with this fun fast break sequence:
The Lakers overcame deficits in points scored in the paint (66-56) and ball control (LA led Toronto 20-13 in turnovers) with advantages in three-point shooting (13-of-30 from deep as opposed to 10-of-28), free-throw takes and makes (19-of-19 over 10-of-13), and points scored off turnovers (26-17). LA, of course, enjoyed a huge advantage in bench points (thanks mostly to the efforts of Schröder, Reaves and Hachimura) over a frankly shallower Toronto team, 61-12.
Los Angeles improves to a 33-34 record with the victory, and is now just one game under .500 for the first time since its first game of the year (when it was 0-1). The Lakers are now just 1.5 games behind the fifth (!) seed in the Western Conference, the 35-33 Los Angeles Clippers.
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