LeBron James, Lakers Make the Wrong Kind of History in Embarrassing Loss
The Toronto Raptors didn’t have their best player available when they visited the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
As it turns out, no Kawhi Leonard, no problem.
The Raptors cruised to a 121-107 victory, thanks in large part to record-setting futility from the Lakers. Toronto jumped out to a 42-17 lead after one quarter. The 25-point deficit was the largest after one period in Lakers franchise history, according to ESPN.
"They just came out and hit us right in the mouth."
LeBron James reacts to the Lakers loss to the Raptors tonight. #GameTime pic.twitter.com/h1b9z2CCcw
— NBA TV (@NBATV) November 5, 2018
At one point, Toronto had a 31-point lead in the first quarter.
“They’re the best team in the Eastern Conference so far and they just came out and hit us right in the mouth,” said the Lakers’ LeBron James after the loss.
“It’s going to be very very hard to make a game out of that when you are trying to expend so much energy trying to get back into it,” he added.
Leonard did not play due to soreness in his left foot, but a “re-Serge-ent” Serge Ibaka picked up the slack with 34 points and 10 rebounds.
BAKA NICE https://t.co/NO8CfAJYPs
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) November 5, 2018
After a lackluster season when he averaged 12.6 points per game, Ibaka has been on fire this year so far, averaging a career high 18.1 points per game.
“To me, we got a ‘W,’ that’s what’s most important,” Ibaka said.
The Lakers were able to rally, but could never erase that huge first-quarter margin.
“The second, third, and fourth quarters we played Lakers basketball,” James said. “But the first quarter we just came out sluggish, looked like a back-to-back. We got in late and they just pour it on us.”
The Lakers picked up their most impressive win of the season thus far, a 114-100 win in Portland, on Saturday. Perhaps the back-to-back games played a part in the team’s slow start on Sunday, but the Lakers weren’t making excuses.
“I don’t know if we were tired from our game last night or what, not that that’s an excuse,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said. “But it felt like that in the first quarter and they jumped all over us. They got want they wanted to. They got into a rhythm and it made it tough to stop after that.”
"We got a W, to me that's more important." – Serge
📺 | https://t.co/U1A3E2IztS https://t.co/CsSHvjp6Kr
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) November 5, 2018
In addition to Ibaka’s 34 points, Kyle Lowry added 21 for Toronto.
Kyle Kuzma led the Lakers Sunday with 24 points while James tossed in 18.
The Raptors improved to 9-1, matching the Warriors for the best record in the league. The Lakers fell to 4-6.
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