The Los Angeles Lakers finally mustered a win over the formerly red-hot Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday after dropping 10 of the teams’ last 13 games. But it wouldn’t have meant anything without more wins.
They took the court again on Tuesday evening against the Toronto Raptors, a team that came in with a deceiving 15-21 record. They had won three of their four contests since trading OG Anunoby to the New York Knicks for Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett. They look better than their record suggested.
The Lakers led by as many as eight points in the second quarter, but their shooting went cold, resulting in them trailing by two at halftime. They reasserted themselves in the third quarter by ratcheting up their defense and playing faster offensively, which led to nine straight made baskets. However, a six-point lead with under two minutes to go in the period turned into a one-point deficit going into the final 12 minutes.
Los Angeles went down by six points in the fourth quarter, but it quickly fought back to make the score tight. With 3:52 left, Quickley committed his sixth foul when he threw an elbow at Cam Reddish while driving to the hoop, and it was ruled a flagrant foul. Reddish left the game after shooting the ensuing two free throws, and the game seemed to turn in favor of L.A. just enough. It edged Toronto for a 132-131 win.
The Lakers shot an outstanding 44.4% from 3-point range, although Toronto was a hot 48.6% from that distance. Ultimately, this game was decided on the free-throw line. They attempted 36 foul shots and made 28 of them, while their visitors were just 8-of-13 from the charity stripe.
Los Angeles came in ranked 19th in scoring and 23rd in offensive rating, but on this night managed to ring up the scoreboard at a high rate. Tuesday was just the seventh time this season L.A. reached the 130-point mark and only the second time in the last month. It also had an impressive 34 assists.
The team now prepares to play the Phoenix Suns, another squad that has plenty of star power but has been very disappointing this season, on Thursday.