Anthony Davis delivered a dominant performance with a season-high 38 points and 12 rebounds. In comparison, LeBron James added 27 points and 10 assists to help the Los Angeles Lakers secure their first road victory of the season, defeating the Toronto Raptors 131-125 on Friday night.
Austin Reaves chipped in with 20 points, and D’Angelo Russell contributed 19 as the Lakers built a sizable lead early and held off a second-half comeback attempt by Toronto.
Los Angeles led by as many as 26 points in what became their fourth straight win over the Raptors before Toronto fought back in the latter stages of the game.
RJ Barrett recorded a season-best 33 points and dished out a career-high 12 assists, while Gradey Dick erupted for a career-high 31 points. Jakob Poeltl added 19 points and 12 rebounds, but the Raptors’ late push wasn’t enough to end their four-game losing streak.
Lakers rookie Bronny James, who scored his first career basket in Wednesday’s loss at Cleveland, checked into the game for the final 7.6 seconds.
Takeaways
Lakers: After suffering back-to-back road losses in Phoenix and Cleveland, Los Angeles finally broke through for its first road win of the season.
Raptors: Rookie Ja’Kobe Walter debuted his season, scoring his first career points on a three-point play in the second quarter. He finished with five points on 1-of-8 shooting in 20 minutes. Walter missed training camp and the start of the season with a right shoulder sprain.
Key Moment
Toronto trimmed the deficit to 104-98 in the fourth quarter, but the Lakers responded with a crucial stretch. Max Christie sank two free throws before Rui Hachimura knocked down back-to-back corner 3-pointers, restoring Los Angeles’ double-digit advantage and sealing the win.
Key Stat
The Lakers dominated at the free-throw line, attempting three times as many as the Raptors. Los Angeles went 36-for-41 from the stripe, while Toronto managed just 11-for-13.
Up Next
Raptors: Will honor franchise legend Vince Carter by retiring his jersey during halftime of Saturday night’s game against Sacramento.
Lakers: Continue their road trip with a visit to Detroit on Monday night.
