Lakers Lead Big But Raptors Win 101-92

On Lonzo Ball's 20th birthday, the Los Angeles Lakers took a 17-point first half lead against the Toronto Raptors before losing by a final count of 101-92, with LA-native and Compton High School graduate DeMar DeRozan leading all scorers with 24 points on an eventful night.

In the first quarter, the purple and gold looked worth their weight in gold, with the home team assisting on eight of 12 made field goals, holding the Raptors to 8-21 from the field and taking a seven-point lead. Helping the Lakers' cause, the Raptors looked sluggish and missed eight of night three-point attempts.

In the second quarter, the Lakers continued to turn the screws on the Raptors to the tune of a 17-point lead when Brandon Ingram converted a layup with 3:56 remaining in the first half.

At that point, the visitors seemingly found smelling salts that brought the Raptors back to life, like an NBA version of Jurassic Park. Toronto finished the half on a 15-4 run to trail by a modest six points at the imtermission.

Only, the start of the third quarter featured more Raptors hunting in packs and Lakers failing to ward off the attacks. Four minutes into the second half, the Raptors tasted their first lead of the game. In a span that lasted fewer than eight minutes of game time, the visitors had benefited from an 18-point swing.

Lakers coach Luke Walton saw the changing scenery and pulled out his starters earlier than usual because of the Raptors beating them down the floor and getting easy buckets. 

Thankfully for the coach, his bench players continued to step up with Julius Randle serving as the embodiment of playing with energy, as the 22-year-old forward led the second unit charge. On the night, Randle finished with a team-high 18 points in fewer than 24 minutes on the floor.

"He's done a much better job of attacking the rim, whether it's on a roll, or it's on penetration," Walton said about Randle's recent play. 

Inspired by Randle, the second unit, which featured rookies Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart playing integral roles, battled to keep the game level at 83-83. Considering Walton had called on his backups earlier than usual in the third quarter, the coach thought his reserves needed a rest with about six and a half minutes remaining in the ball game.

When Walton called on his starters, the score was level at 83-83.

From that point forward, the Raptors led wire-to-wire. DeRozan scored the next six points and the Raptors outscored the Lakers' starters 8-0 before Walton called timeout with 3:43 remaining in the game.

The coach had seen enough. He benched all five of his starters and put in a uit consisting of Randle, Kuzma, Hart, Corey Brewer and Jordan Clarkson to finish the game.

Facing an eight-point hole and limited time on the clock, the second unit managed to cut the different down to six points with 1:26 remaining before Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry craftily dribbled his way into a mismatch with Randle. On the perimeter against the bulky forward, Lowry drained a 27-foot three-pointer to put the visitors up by nine points with a shade over a minute remaining.

Valiantly, the Lakers fought back to cut the difference to five points with 31.1 seconds remaining, but it was too little, too late at that advanced stage. The veteran Raptors took care of the basketball and claimed a 101-92 victory when the final buzzer sounded.

While the Raptors are expected to be one of the top teams in the East and the Lakers are projected to be one of the worst teams in the West, Friday night seemed like a game the Lakers gave away.

"Tonight, we kind of let one go," Ball said after the game. "We just have to get into the film room, learn from it and move on."

Next, the Lakers play on a back-to-back in Utah on Saturday night.

Notes: Kuzma recorded the first double-double of his career with 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Lakers missed 20 of their 23 three-point attempts on the night, along with seven free throws. Also, the Lakers committed 21 turnovers compared to only 14 turnovers by the Raptors.