Another night of brilliance from Luka Dončić led the Lakers to a bounceback win on Sunday as they knocked off the Raptors, 131-125.
Coming off a loss to the Warriors, LA rode Luka's back to another win as he put up another 40-point game. The team struggled mightily in the minutes without him, but still did enough to hang onto the win, barely.
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The Lakers forced 15 turnovers, many of those coming in the first period, which they turned into 23 points. They offset that by turning the ball over 24 times themselves, leading to 30 Toronto points. It was a much-improved performance from the bench as well as they scored 37 points.
Luka set the tone to start the game, as he's one to do. However, this time, it came on the defensive end. The Lakers were particularly active on the defensive end, swiping seven steals in the quarter.
Behind that, LA jumped out to not only an early advantage, but a double-digit one at that. A 10-0 run all came at the hands of Luka, who hit a three, set up Matisse Thybulle for one and got assists on Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler finishes at the rim.
A 10-2 run shortly after included threes from Reaves and Sandro Mamukelashvili to build a 23-11 lead. Luka hit a pair of threes at the end of the period to help LA carry a 36-23 advantage into the second.
The Lakers were much better with Luka on the bench in this contest with Collin Sexton scoring eight points and Mamu connecting on another three to help keep LA ahead by 11 through the first nearly six minutes of the frame.
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Toronto did eventually piece together a run that forced a timeout after a Jamal Shead corner 3-pointer made it just a 49-41 LA advantage. Shead converted on an and-one to trim the lead even further, but Jake LaRavia helped LA responded with consecutive threes to make it a double-digit lead once more.
Luka closed the half in style with a 30-foot 3-pointer just before the buzzer, giving the hosts a 66-54 lead at the break. It also gave him an absurd stat line of 24 points, eight rebounds, 5 steals, 4 assists and a block in 18 minutes.
Luka did not slow down in the second half as he hit a trio of threes in the opening five minutes as the lead ballooned to 18 points.
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Despite picking up his fourth foul on a silly double foul, he stayed red hot throughout, upping his total to 35 as the Lakers' lead crossed the 20-point threshold. A Grimes 3-pointer to beat the shot clock late in the frame made it a 26-point lead, the largest of the night.
A small surge from the Raptors cut the gap to 21 points heading into the fourth. That run carried over into the final frame as Toronto was on a 15-4 run.
A Mamu 3-pointer stopped the bleeding only briefly before RJ Barrett pulled the visitors to within 14 to force a Lakers timeout. Luka checked back in just before the seven-minute mark with the Lakers down 12 after leading by 22 when he checked out.
Barrett knocked down another three to make it a nine-point lead. Luka answered with a layup, then Austin finished through contact at the rim to quell the Raptors' run. A pair of Luka freebies helped stabilize LA further.
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The Lakers finally pieced together a string of defensive stops that eventually led to Toronto pulling their starters down 15 with just over four minutes remaining and with a game against the Clippers on Monday.
JJ Redick soon followed suit by pulling the starters up 15 with 2:28 left. Cam Carr, fresh off the injury report, made his NBA debut in the final minutes of the game.
The garbage time minutes somehow went disastrously as the Raptors went on a 12-2 run to make it a six-point game with 43 seconds left, forcing the starters back into the game.
Luka promptly launched an 80-foot pass downcourt the first time he touched the ball for a wide open Kessler dunk that effectively sealed the game.
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Key Player Stats
Luka had another huge night, finishing with 45 points, 15 rebounds, six assists and five steals. Austin Reaves had another quieter outing until some late buckets to help put the game away, tallying 21 points on 6-16 shooting. He did have just three turnovers to four assists.
Kessler had another double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Collin Sexton was the leading scorer off the bench with 14 points while Mamu had 11 points on 4-7 shooting. Jake LaRavia pitched in eight points and Thybulle had six.
The Lakers will be right back in action on Monday against the Heat. Tip is set for 7 p.m. PT.
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