Toronto Raptors draft pick Ja’Kobe Walter speaks with media during a press conference at the OVO Athletic Centre in Toronto, Friday, June 28, 2024. Ja'Kobe Walter may make his NBA debut for the Toronto Raptors tonight against the Los Angeles Lakers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston
TORONTO – Anthony Davis and LeBron James each had a double-double as the Los Angeles Lakers never trailed in a 131-123 victory over the undermanned Toronto Raptors on Friday.
Davis led all scorers with 38 points and added 12 rebounds as Los Angeles (4-2) led by as much as 26. James added 27 points, 10 assists and six rebounds.
RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont., and Jakob Poeltl also had double-doubles for a Toronto (1-5) team rocked by injuries. Barrett had 33 points and a career-high 12 assists, while Poeltl scored 19 points with 12 rebounds.
Sophomore swingman Gradey Dick added a career-high 31 points and pulled down seven boards as the Raptors mounted a late comeback.
Ja’Kobe Walter, who Toronto selected 19th overall in last summer’s NBA Draft, had five points and six rebounds in his NBA debut. He had missed all of the Raptors’ training camp, pre-season, and first five regular-season games with a sprained shoulder.
All-star forward Scottie Barnes (broken orbital), point guard Immanuel Quickley (right pelvis contusion), backup centre Kelly Olynyk (lumbar sprain) of Kamloops, B.C., and veteran forward Bruce Brown (arthroscopic knee surgery) were all inactive for the Raptors.
Toronto’s young core of Barrett, Barnes and Quickley have yet to play together this season.
Takeaways
Los Angeles: The Lakers were sent to the free-throw line 41 times, making 36 of those opportunities. That made up for their poor field-goal shooting in the second half when they went 14 for 43 (32.6 per cent).
Toronto: Missing key rotation players, the Raptors managed to stay competitive – closing to within six points of L.A. in the fourth quarter – behind the play of young reserves like Walter and fellow rookies Jonathan Mogbo (eight points) and Jamal Shead (four). Toronto’s bench finished with 24 points.
Key moment
Barrett made a jump shot from five feet out and drew a foul from James with 8:32 left to play to cut L.A.’s lead to six points. It was the closest the Raptors had been since the first three minutes of the game. The Lakers responded with an 11-2 run behind two Rui Hachimura three-pointers.
Key stat
The Raptors were giving up an NBA-worst 18.6 turnovers per game heading into Friday night but only coughed up the ball 11 times against Los Angeles,
Up next
Toronto hosts the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night and the Lakers continue their East Coast swing with a stop on Monday against the Detroit Pistons.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2024.
