Scottie Barnes scored 15 of his 21 points in the first quarter and the Toronto Raptors held off a late rally by the Los Angeles Lakers for a 114-103 victory Monday night.
The Raptors led by 24 in the first as the Lakers were soundly defeated for the second consecutive night.
Gary Trent Jr. had 28 points and Pascal Siakam scored 27 for Toronto, which has won four straight — all on the road. Fred VanVleet returned after being held out Saturday at Denver to rest his right knee and had 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
LeBron James had 30 points and nine rebounds for Los Angeles, which has lost four of five — including 140-111 at Phoenix on Sunday. James had been a game-time decision because of soreness in his left knee but ended up playing 40 minutes.
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The Raptors piled on early against the floundering Lakers, scoring the first nine points on the way to a 33-12 lead after one. Los Angeles was 3 for 25 from the field and missed all 13 of its 3-pointers in the opening quarter. Avery Bradley had four points and was the only Lakers player with more than two in the period.
Foul trouble was the only thing that slowed Barnes during an impressive first half. He scored 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting in 18 minutes before sitting down with his third foul.
Los Angeles mounted a late charge in the fourth quarter, pulling within 109-97 with 2:19 remaining on a 3-pointer by James. Talen Horton-Tucker missed a 3 that would have made the deficit six points, and Siakam and Trent hit free throws to push Toronto’s lead back to 12.
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Horton-Tucker finished with 20 points and Russell Westbrook added 14.
TIP-INS
Raptors: Chris Boucher had 13 points off the bench.
Lakers: Carmelo Anthony scored 14 points. … Los Angeles F Wenyen Gabriel grabbed a career-high nine rebounds, offering good energy off the bench. … The Lakers have allowed 100 points in 16 straight games. They are 4-12 in that span.
UP NEXT
Raptors: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
Lakers: At the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.
