TORONTO— LeBron James scored 23 points, Anthony Davis 21 points and 12 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Toronto Raptors 128-111 on Tuesday for their seventh win in eight games.
Toronto lost their 14th straight game as D'Angelo Russell scored 25 points on 7-for-14 shooting from 3-point range, Rui Hachimura had 14 and Max Christie 12. James, the NBA's career leader, shot 10/12 and added nine assists.
James had equaled his career high with nine 3-pointers in Sunday's win at Brooklyn. With 5:22 left in the third quarter, the 20-time All-Star made his only long shot against the Raptors. Davis rested the whole fourth quarter, while James left with 9:22 left after Los Angeles stretched its advantage to 27, 109-82. The Lakers play the Wizards on Wednesday.
James enjoyed starting his postgame ritual early. “It absolutely helps,” he added. “Every minute matters. I returned here and started therapy and prep, hoping for tomorrow night.” Lakers coach Darvin Ham expected James and Davis to play against the Wizards, who beat Milwaukee on Tuesday.
We’ll see how they feel in the morning but, in all likelihood, I’m sure they’ll play,” Ham added. Five of James' six games against Toronto have seen him score 20 or more points. “He’s just so elite,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “It's amazing to see a player at this age play at this level after 20 NBA years. We saw nothing like it.”
RJ Barrett scored 28 and Immanuel Quickley 20 for the Raptors. 1997-98 saw a franchise-worst 17 consecutive losses for Toronto. Toronto's Gary Trent Jr. rested as Barrett and Quickley returned from personal and reconditioning absences. The Lakers led 34-25 after one quarter after an 18-4 run after the pair scored 17 points.
Los Angeles led 64-58 at halftime. Davis and James each scored nine points in the third as the Lakers led 100-79 after three. “We challenged the guys,” Ham remarked at halftime. They played a strong third quarter defensively.
Five players, including starters Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl, were injured. Toronto two-way player Jontay Porter missed his fifth consecutive game and is under investigation for gambling. Right knee pain forced Raptors guard Bruce Brown to leave in the fourth. For personal reasons, Lakers forward Cam Reddish was unavailable, and guard Gabe Vincent sat on the first night of the back-to-back games after left knee surgery.
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