The Toronto Raptors lost a wild one to the Los Angeles Lakers 132-131.
Darko Rajakovic was furious after the game calling out the officiating. The Los Angeles Lakers shot 23 free to the Raptors 2 in the fourth quarter.
Anthony Davis scored 20 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter while going 11 for 11 at the line in the final frame. Davis shot 14 of the Lakers’ 36 free throws in the game. Meanwhile, the entire Raptors roster shot only 13.
Davis carried the Lakers to victory and LeBron James chipped in with 26 points.
For the Raptors they were shorthanded in this one as Jakob Poeltl is out indefinitely with a left ankle sprain.
Thad Young started in place of him and gave the Raptors some solid minutes.
Spicy BBQ came to play for the Raptors. Pascal Siakam had 25 points and hit three three-pointers.
Scottie Barnes bounced back in a big way with 26 points on 10-17 shooting. Barnes was aggressive in the fourth quarter, but as Rajakovic alluded to in his rant he didn’t get calls down the stretch. Barnes fouled out.
The newcomers for Toronto continue to be brilliant. RJ Barrett had 23 points on a very efficient 10-13 from the field.
Immanuel Quickley scored 21 points along with 5 assists and 4 rebounds. He made 4-6 threes before picking up a controversial flagrant foul on Cam Reddish which led to him fouling out.
Gary Trent Jr. and Dennis Schroder combined for 24 from off the bench.
However, at the end the questionable calls and free throw discrepancy was too much for the Raptors to overcome.
Despite the loss, the new-look Raptors have looked solid going 3-2. Both loses were in competitive fashion. There’s a lot to build on from this one.
Next on tap
The Raptors have to quickly forget about this game as they take on the Los Angeles Clippers on the second night of a back-to-back.
The Raptors will be in tough for this matchup as the Clippers have been one of the hottest teams in the league.
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