Lakers vs. Raptors Final Score: LeBron and Austin Reaves lead the way to victory

LeBron James had another triple-double and Austin Reaves scored 22 points in the second half to lead the Lakers to a 123-103 victory over the Raptors on Sunday.

Anthony Davis’ MVP-style dominance continued until he left the game with an injury in the third quarter. He scored 19 of his 22 points in the first quarter. He also grabbed four rebounds and a steal.

However, after being punched in the face by Jakob Pöltl midway through the third quarter, AD went to the locker room and did not return.

In his absence, LeBron James stepped up in the second half and finished with 19 points, 16 dimes and 10 rebounds. Austin Reaves contributed 27 points and six assists. D’Angelo Russell had another nice game off the bench with 15 Points.

Along with his defensive presence, Cam Reddish scored 11 points.

Gradey Dick got things started for Toronto with a layup. A welcome sight was AD knocking down a 3-pointer, which now appears to be officially back in his arsenal as he continues to make more and more of them. However, the Raptors played a much better game offensively as they were up to eight fastbreak points midway through the quarter.

Toronto had a lead of five, but AD cut the deficit to three with a nice floater. Los Angeles’ offense looked much better. A 3-pointer from Gabe Vincent brought the Lakers within two points, but the Raptors went up by eight after scoring six straight points.

D’Lo hit a 3-pointer in the second half to open the scoring for Los Angeles. Although the Lakers struggled defensively, their offense kept them close. They were still down by eight, but a 1-0 lead from LeBron brought them within five.

Toronto increased its lead with a layup and improved it to seven. Conversely, AD put down a fierce dunk to reduce the deficit back to five. Cam’s productive minutes continued as he stole the ball and got out in transition to score a layup.

The Raptors scored seven straight points to extend their lead to 10. LA lacked energy, but thanks to AD’s shots, there was suddenly some fight and they found themselves back within four points.

At halftime, Los Angeles was within two thanks to a buzzer-beater three-pointer from D’Lo.

The second half began with the Raptors making it rain from behind the arc. Gradey knocked down two and Immanuel Quickley drilled one of his own. The Lakers’ only score was a two-handed dunk from LeBron.

Austin converted a nice And-1 to stop the bleeding a bit. He then scored a layup to cut the deficit to four. Unfortunately, the Raptors were once again able to take an eight-man lead after the Lakers’ defense let them down.

The Lakers then had a mini-surge led by a three-pointer from AD to beat the shot clock. This was followed by a layup in transition from LeBron. Toronto responded again and again, turning this into an attacking battle.

Austin made an insane behind-the-back pass to Cam for a dunk that brought the house down and made it a three-point game once again.

AD went back to the locker room after being poked in the eye following an incredible block. The Lakers took a two-point lead after a three-pointer from Dalton. LA’s energy was at its highest and the Raptors appeared defeated. At the end of the third period, Los Angeles had a lead of six.

Gabe scored with a nice layup to start the final frame. The Lakers had full momentum. They further extended their lead of 11. LeBron connected with Jaxson Hayes quite often and provided a few dunks.

LA’s lead grew to 14 thanks to a three-pointer from D’Lo. The Lakers remained in complete control of the game in the win, every player that played had productive minutes and fantastic performances, especially in this half.

Austin took the lead and shot 73% from the field in the second half. He converted two three-pointers and a flurry of layups to seal the victory.

Key Takeaways:

The experiment of putting Cam in the starting lineup and D’Lo on the bench has proven quite successful. It might be exactly what they have to hold on to for the foreseeable future.

The bank had a wonderful game. Many productive minutes and a total of 40 points.

Rui Hachimura’s offensive performance seems to be declining. Hopefully he can get back to his strong performance at the start of the season.

Have we seen Max Christie run out of regular playing time?

The Lakers’ next game will be a rematch against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.