Toronto @ Los Angeles preview
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Last Meeting ( Nov 1, 2024 ) L.A. Lakers 131, Toronto 125
The Los Angeles Lakers will look to remain perfect at home on the season when they host the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
After opening with the franchise's first 3-0 start since 2010-11, the Lakers went 1-4 on a five-game road trip.
A return home on Friday to face Philadelphia -- and a 116-106 win -- helped Los Angeles ro avoid a three-game skid. Anthony Davis scored 31 points to continue his torrid start to the season.
Davis has scored at least 31 points in six of his eight appearances and grabbed at least 11 rebounds in four outings. His four blocked shots versus the 76ers marked a season high.
LeBron James recorded his 114th career triple-double on Friday with 21 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds. Austin Reaves added 20 points for the Lakers, who improved to 3-1 when he scores at least that many this season.
Another two Lakers players who factored into Friday's win were Cam Reddish and D'Angelo Russell. Los Angeles coach JJ Redick offered praise for the duo after Russell scored 18 points off the bench and Reddish fulfilled a variety of needs.
"Both those guys starred in the roles they had tonight," Redick said. "Cam took one shot in 27 minutes but had a huge impact on the game defensively in the first half. I know we had three smash-screen assists coming out of set plays; Cam had two of them.
"That's sacrifice. That's unselfishness."
Russell, meanwhile, is one of five Lakers scorers averaging in double figures with 12.7 points per game. He joins Davis (32.4), James (23.7), Reaves (17.8) and Rui Hachimura (13.0).
Hachimura scored nine points on Friday in his return to the lineup after missing the 131-114 loss at Memphis on Wednesday.
Toronto will play the fourth contest of a five-game road trip on Sunday. This swing has not been kind to the Raptors, as Saturday's 105-103 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers dropped Toronto to 0-3 in this stretch.
On Saturday, Ochai Agbaji and Immanuel Quickley each scored 21 points, Gradey Dick had 15 and Chris Boucher added 14 points off the bench. However, Toronto fell 15 points shy of its per-game scoring average through the previous nine games.
RJ Barrett, who came into Saturday's contest averaging a team-high 25.7 points per game, finished with only 13 versus the Clippers. Getting Barrett going, and pushing the tempo as a team, figure to be top priorities for Toronto on Sunday.
Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic has emphasized a fast pace predicated on ball movement. Toronto went into Los Angeles averaging almost 31 assists per game, most in the NBA.
"It's the right way to play basketball," Rajakovic said on Saturday. "We're a very young team and it's creating habits now of unselfishness, playing together and playing for each other
"There are so many examples of great teams that play that way," he added, citing Nikola Jokic and his Denver Nuggets, the recent NBA Finals-winning Golden State teams, and the San Antonio Spurs championship teams of previous decades. "It's not anything new."
--Field Level Media