Injury-Crippled Toronto Raptors Upset Lakers and Win in Los Angeles, 113-104

Injury-crippled champions, Toronto Raptors, had stopped the LA Lakers’ winning surge in Californi last night. Nick Nurse’s team managed to defeat the purple and gold, beating all odds, showcasing that they still have what it takes to compete with the top teams in the league. The final result was 113-104 for the Raptors, whose fourth-period performance decided the game.

Without Kyle Lowry due to fractured left thumb, and Serge Ibaka, who sprained his ankle, many believed that the red-hot Lakers would just roll over the Raptors. But it didn’t happen like that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ4rnKtcVpM

LeBron James said it best after the game. King James admitted that the championship spirit is still present in the Raptors’ locker room.

“They’ve still got championship players over there,” James said. “Don’t matter if they were short-handed. … They were the better team tonight, for sure. We had good opportunities to win the game, but they turned up in that fourth quarter.”

It was a tight contest, in which the Lakers controlled the result and had an advantage up until the middle of the third period. The hosts were even 11 buckets ahead with 1:51 left in the first half. But that “championship spirit” pushed Toronto in the late part of the game, with the Canadians opening the last frame with a 19-8 run. The hosts were constantly behind with a double-digit deficit in that part of the event. The only moment when they had an opportunity for chasing down the guests was when they made an 8-0 series to come down to 104-100 with 2:26 until the end. But the Raptors responded with seven straight points to close this one.

“I think everybody that stepped out there didn’t only contribute, but they played awesomely,” Toronto coach Nick Nurse said.

Pascal Siakam had 24 points, and was there in all the important moments of this match; the Most Improved Player of the Year also had 11 boards and 3 rejections. Fred VanVleed also had a double-double with 23 buckets and 10 assists, grabbing 7 boards. Norman Powell was in the starting lineup, and he contributed with 14 buckets.

Chris Boucher posted his best basketball since the start of the season. The 26-year old forward had 15 points of the bench.

.@chrisboucher: Human Highlight Machine pic.twitter.com/K1BAUGzqD5

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) November 11, 2019

Meanwhile, the Lakers were led by Anthony Davis, who had 27 buckets and 8 boards. LeBron added another triple-double to his collection, but with only 15 points, shooting 5 for 15 from the field. Besides that, LBJ had 15 assists and 13 boards. King was rejected by Boucher in the last period, and that was the moment when the tide turned in guests’ favor.

Kuzma scored 15 off the bench.

“We’ve got to get our offense clicking,” Davis said. “We’ve got to be able to score a little bit more, just for nights when our defense might not be there, or they are making tough shots.”

This was the first loss for the purple and gold (7-2) since the opening game of the season against the LA Clippers. After that, Frank Vogel’s guys posted 7 straight victories. They are heading for Phoenix next, to play with the Suns this Tuesday night.

As for the Raptors (7-2), a victory in LA presents a massive boost, especially after all the setbacks they’ve been through recently. This was their second game on a five-match road trip, which continues already this Monday night versus the LA Clippers also at Staples. It will be the first time for Toronto to meet with Kawhi Leonard.