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The LA Lakers (42-33) flew to Canada on Tuesday to go up against the Toronto Raptors (23-51). With the clock winding down in the regular season, the Lakers hope to get another win as they aim to secure the sixth seed in the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
LA had a strong showing in the opening period, establishing a 34-25 lead. Anthony Davis and D'Angelo Russell took care of business in the first quarter, scoring eight points each to help their team take the lead. Despite being one of the Lakers' scoring leaders in the first, Russell did a good job sharing the rock, notching three assists. Helping "D-Lo" create plays was none other than LeBron James, who had four assists.
The Toronto Raptors were able to cut the lead down to six in the second quarter after outscoring the Lakers by three points with a total of 33 team points. RJ Barrett took matters into his own hands and scored 10 points for the Raptors in their attempt to make a comeback.
However, there was no stopping the LA Lakers as LeBron slightly found his rhythm on offense after scoring eight second-quarter points. Spencer Dinwiddie caught fire from downtown in the second period after knocking down two straight threes. Rui Hachimura also slightly came alive with six points of his own in the second.
Come the beginning of the second half, the Lakers played with some urgency and notched their biggest lead in any quarter with a 100-79 third-quarter finish. Anthony Davis became the only player in the third with a double-double outing with a total of 21 points and 12 rebounds, while he and LeBron James were the first players to hit the 20-point mark in their team.
RJ Barrett did everything he could in the third quarter with a total of 26 points. Unfortunately, other than Immanuel Quickley (17 points), his teammates couldn’t keep up with Barrett’s pace.
Ultimately, the Lakers were able to notch their second consecutive win against Toronto, 128-111, and are now a couple of wins away from taking the sixth spot in the Western Conference from the New Orleans Pelicans. That’s only if the Pelicans continue to lose the remaining of their games and if the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns also flop moving forward.
