๐—œ๐—ป๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—”๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜†๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€: ๐Ÿฏ ๐—ž๐—ฒ๐˜†๐˜€ ๐—•๐—ฒ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ข๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜€’ ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฒ..

The Los Angeles Lakers earned a 123-103 win over the Toronto Raptors to improve their record to 5-4.
Nov 10, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) drives the ball against Toronto Raptors forward Jonathan Mogbo (2) and guard Jamal Shead (23) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena.

Theย Los Angeles Lakersย won a crucial clash against theย Toronto Raptorsย 123-103 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles to improve their record to 6-4 while the Raptors slid to 2-8.

LeBron Jamesย posted another triple-double and ended the night with 19 points (6-14 FG), 10 rebounds, and 16 assists whileย Austin Reavesย led the team in scoring with 27 points (10-17 FG) and six assists.ย Anthony Davisย left the game in the fourth quarter with an eye injury but scored 22 points (6-8 FG) prior to that.ย D’Angelo Russellย had another great performance as the team’s sixth man, scoring 18 points (6-13 FG) in the win.

The Raptors didn’t match up well enough to hold the Lakers at bay, being led by RJ Barrett’s (5-15 FG) and Chris Boucher’s (6-9 FG) 18-point nights. Jakob Poeltl had 14 points (7-12 FG) and 10 rebounds while surprise story Ochai Agbaji continued his strong run of form with 16 points (5-7 FG) and six rebounds.

Here are three keys behind the Lakers’ winning this matchup.


Point LeBron Is Back And Thriving

LeBron James might have defied everyone’s expectations of what longevity looks like but it’s clear that Father Time has started slowing him down. He isn’t a guaranteed 20-point scorer anymore, cracking that mark seven times in ten games this season. As James continues to evolve his game to suit his physical capabilities, relying on his playmaking as his biggest offensive tool led the Lakers to this win.

James got off to a slow scoring start (0-3 in the first quarter) and committed to impacting the game with his playmaking. He connected with Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, and more to dish 16 assists in a season-high on just three turnovers all game.

Ever sinceย JJ Redick reclassified D’Angelo Russell as the team’s sixth manย to add Cam Reddish to the starting unit, LeBron has increased his on-ball load as a playmaker. Over the last two games since Russell’s benching, James has put up 29 assists (14.5 per game).

Even though he is officially starting games as the team’s small forward, this is the most engaged we’ve seen LeBron as a playmaker since 2019-20 where he led the league by averaging 10.2 assists per game.


Jaxson Hayes Held The Fort After Anthony Davis Got Hurt

Anthony Davis went out with an eye injury with five minutes left in the third quarter while the Lakers were trailing by three points, creating mass worry for the fans that they were going to lose this game and have Davis sidelined once again. Jaxson Hayes had played just six minutes in the game when he checked in with no points or rebounds on the box score, but he excelled under pressure and helped the Lakers seal the win.

Hayes ended the night with 12 points (4-6 FG), six rebounds, one assist, and one block, with all stats except the block coming after he replaced Davis in this game. He was impactful as a rim deterrent and made the most of opportunities at the line by going 4-6 over the game. He ended the night with a team-high +21, showing JJ Redick and the Lakers that they can rely on him as a backup.

The team as a whole looked great for the first time this season without Davis, as they effortlessly transferred his offensive load to LeBron and Reaves while Hayes used his athleticism at the center spot to keep the Raptors uncomfortable and maximize his opportunities whenever he got them.


Cleaning Up Sloppy Turnovers

JJ Redick had slammed the Lakers after some of their early losses this season for playing sloppy basketball, with the team turning the ball 20 times in their loss against theย Cleveland Cavaliers, 19 times in the win against theย Sacramento Kings, and 13 times against in the loss against theย Detroit Pistons. Tonight, they had just five turnovers as a team, with three coming from LeBron in a 16-assist night.

The Lakers’ ball movement had a lot of purpose and rarely saw players simply throwing the ball away if passing lanes were cut off or in careless fast-break situations. The Raptors pushed the perimeter as hard as they could but the Lakers played with on-ball discipline that we haven’t seen otherwise this season.

Cleaning up their turnovers while forcing the Raptors to commit 16 of their own made a huge impact in the win, as the Lakers overcame adversity after trailing in the third quarter to walk away with a dominant 20-point win.

The Lakers will host the in-formย Memphis Grizzliesย next while the Raptors head to the Fiserv Forum to face theย Milwaukee Bucks.

Related Posts

NBA Players React To Dwyane Wade’s Heartfelt Instagram Post..

Dwyane Wadeย is one of the best shooting guards in NBA history. Theย Miami Heatย legend recently had a statueย unveiledย outside of the team’s arena. Wade made a heartfelt post to…

Gabrielle Union gets blasted after announcing departure from X: โ€˜Nobody gives a fโ€“kโ€™..

Miami Heatย legend Dwyane Wadeโ€™s wife Gabrielle Union announced on Friday that she is leaving the social media platform X. X has seen a number of users leave…

Adebayo scores 30 to propel Heat past Pacers 124-111..

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) โ€” Bam Adebayo scored 30 points and had 11 rebounds and the Miami Heat beat the Indiana Pacers 124-111 on Friday night in NBA Cup…

Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro Serves As Pitchman For Reveal Of New “Blood Red” Culture Jerseys..

On Thursday, the Miami Heat released the latest edition of their “Culture” jersey. The newest version is named “Blood Red.” The team posted it on the official…

Draymond Green Praises Stephen Curry’s Performance Against Klay Thompson..

Klay Thompson made his return to Golden State on Tuesday night. His former Splash Bros partner was more than ready. Tuesday night’s matchup between theย Dallas Mavericksย and theย Golden…

Klay Thompson’s Defiant Message After Antics Backfire Against Steph Curry..

The fans were treated to a vintageย Steph Curryย performance on Tuesday night as the former back-to-back MVP led theย Golden State Warriorsย to a 120-117 victory against theย Dallas Mavericks. Curry…