After a slow start, the Raptors turned things around in the second half but it wasn’t enough as the Lakers pulled away with a 131-125 victory.
Los Angeles outscored Toronto 43-19 in the first quarter and led by as many as 26 points.
The Raptors came out of halftime with a much better effort. They outscored the Lakers 37-23 in the third to get within striking distance.
However, the Raptors couldn’t get enough stops in the fourth quarter. The dynamic duo of Anthony Davis and LeBron James proved to be too much. Davis finished with a game-high 38 points and James once again put on a show in Toronto finishing with 27 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds.
Ja’Kobe Walter makes NBA debut
The Raptors 2024 first-round pick returned from injury and came from off the bench. He played in 22 minutes and scored 5 points to go along with 6 rebounds. Walter struggled to shoot the ball going 1-for-8 from the field, but he looked comfortable in his first ever NBA game. He didn’t shy away from contact, made some hustle plays and blocked a shot. Once Walter gets that shot to fall, he’s going to be a nice rotation piece for Toronto.
Gradey Dick notches new career-high in points
The 20-year-old scored a new career-high of 31 points. Dick has had a new career-best in 3 out of the last 4 games. Dick shot the ball very well going 13-for-26 from the field and 5-for-11 from three in 32 minutes of action. He did a lot of his damage in the midrange and was aggressive getting up shots. He took the most shot attempts in this game. With key players out for the Raptors, Dick has stepped up in a big way.
RJ Barrett is in the zone
Barrett had a solid performance as well. He had a team-high 33 points to go along with a career-high 12 assists and 5 rebounds. Barrett was very efficient going 14-for-22 from the the field and he made 3 triples. Barrett was aggressive attacking the basket. There was one sequence where he guarded LeBron and forced him to take a long jump shot. Then Barrett got the ball on the other end and took it to LeBron for the basket and the foul. Barrett and Dick are the first duo in Raptors franchise history to each score 30+ points in back-to-back games, per StatMamba.
Next on tap
The Raptors will host the Sacramento Kings in the second night of a back-to-back on Nov. 2.
This will be a special game as the Raptors will retire Vince Carter’s No. 15 jersey.
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