ORLANDO — The Los Angeles Lakers failed to find any offensive rhythm as the Toronto Raptors fended off Los Angeles to take a 107-92 victory on Saturday, August, 1 at Walt Disney World, in Orlando, Florida.
The Raptors jumped out to an early 13-0 lead before the Lakers were able to record their first basket of the night five minutes into the matchup. Despite the deficit, Los Angeles found themselves on the other side of the scoring column with a 44-41 lead to close out the first half.
Toronto took another 13-point advantage over Los Angeles midway through the third quarter, but the Lakers would manage to close the gap once again, keeping the game competitive heading into the fourth.
It was not until midway through the fourth quarter that the Raptors would make their run to finish the contest. With less than six minutes remaining, Toronto broke an 83-83 tie to close out the final frame on a 20-9 scoring spree.
Kyle Lowry led the defending champion Raptors with 33 points on the night while adding a career-high 14 rebounds and six assists. OG Anunoby had 23 points while going a near-perfect 8-9 on his field-goal attempts.
As a team, the Lakers shot an abysmal 35% from the field, their lowest for the season. They only converted on 25% of their three-point attempts, going 10-40 from behind the arc. It was also their 11th straight loss handed by the Raptors. The last time Los Angeles beat Toronto was a 129-122 overtime victory at Staples Center on Nov. 30, 2014.
LeBron James recorded 20 points in the loss for Los Angeles. The forward also contributed 10 rebounds and five assists on 7-15 shooting from the field.
