Lakers Gameday | 10/19/08 | Lakers 112 vs Raptors 89 - Preseason Game 5
Farmar leads Lakers past Raptors LOS ANGELES (AP) --Jordan Farmar scored 16 points and sparked a fourth-quarter surge with an electrifying dunk over Chris Bosh, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 112-89 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night. Kobe Bryant had 13 points and six assists in 24 minutes before sitting out the fourth quarter. Trevor Ariza also was a factor in the final period, scoring six of his 14 points. Lamar Odom, still adjusting to his new role as a reserve, had 10 points in 19 minutes. Anthony Parker led Toronto with 14 points. Just 16 days earlier, Parker's sister Candace — who plays for the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks — became the first player to be honored as that league's MVP and rookie of the year in the same season. Bosh, who played with Bryant on the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team, had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Jamario Moon, the first player off the Toronto bench, missed all eight shots in his 14 scoreless minutes. Forward Andrea Bargnani, who missed Saturday night's 93-89 victory over the Clippers because of a bruised right leg, returned to the lineup and had 11 points in 31 minutes. Farmar, a 6-foor-2 backup point guard, sent the sellout crowd into a frenzy when he dunked over the 6-foot-10 Bosh at the end of a fast break with 20 seconds left in the third quarter to give Los Angeles an 80-76 lead heading into the fourth. The Lakers (2-2) opened the final quarter with eight straight points, including a pair of layups by Odom and a dunk by Ariza off an alley-oop pass from Farmar that kissed off the glass. Farmar victimized Bosh again on a reverse layup with 7:58 to play, then added another layup off a fast break about a minute later to increase the Lakers' margin to 96-82. Luke Walton hit a short jumper that capped a 12-2 run and game Los Angeles a commanding 104-84 cushion with 4:05 to play, and both coaches emptied their benches with 3 1-2 minutes left. The Lakers led 53-49 at halftime, with no one on either team scoring in double digits. A pair of free throws by Chris Mihm with 7 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter gave Los Angeles its biggest lead of the half, 40-25. The Raptors (3-3) outscored the defending Western Conference champions 20-6 over the next 5:15, slicing the deficit to 46-45 on Jason Kapono's second 3-pointer of the rally. Despite Farmar's dunk over Bosh, the highlight of the night for the sellout crowd came at halftime — when public address announcer Lawrence Tanter announced that the Boston Red Sox had lost Game 7 of the AL championship series at Tampa Bay. The video board showed the final out, eliciting a roar from Lakers fans whose team was beaten by the Boston Celtics in the NBA finals last June.
RAPTORS - LAKERS PREVIEW by Mike Trudell, Lakers.com Saturday night at STAPLES Center, the Lakers destroyed Regal F.C. Barcelona down low, amassing an absurd 74 points in the paint thanks to a huge size mismatch featuring Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Chris Mihm and even D.J. Mbenga (not to mention some terrific transition offense). The four posts combined for 42 points and 16 boards while ceding just 28 points in the paint to visitors from Spain. Operating on the block won’t be so easy on Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. in Los Angeles, as the visiting Toronto Raptors boast one of the NBA’s few four-five combos - in Chris Bosh and Jermaine O’Neal - that can challenge that of the defending Western Conference Champs. O’Neal in particular adds an element to the Raptors that few other teams have, thanks to his shot blocking ability. Since 2000-01, O’Neal has averaged over two blocks a game, and had five swats to complement 20 points and nine boards in 33 minutes on Saturday. Meanwhile, Bosh chipped in with 26 points and 11 boards in 36 minutes. That said, O’Neal and Bosh were operating against Chris Kaman and Paul Davis, who aren’t exactly the best defensive combination in the NBA. Furthermore, Phil Jackson didn’t play Bynum and Gasol together for more than the first five or six minutes in the first and third quarters, respectively, bringing Lamar Odom on for one or the other and letting his troops get up and down the floor. Still, the Raptors should pose a nice challenge to a Lakers team still working hard to figure out its rotations. Jackson started Vladimir Radmanovic at the three against Barcelona, and received a solid effort in the form of 12 points, three boards, two assists and two steals in only 18 minutes, but Odom was even better off the bench. The rangy forward managed eight boards, five assists and five points in 23 minutes, and at times seemed to be toying with F.C.’s second unit. Both had solid success where Jackson played them, so we may not see anything different on Sunday. Alas, that second unit was boosted by the speed of Jordan Farmar (four points, five assists, one turnover) and Trevor Ariza (10 points, two assists, two steals) and looks much more athletic than Toronto’s bench (Jason Kapono, Kris Humphries, Roko Ukic, Jamario Moon) on paper. Joining O’Neal and Bosh in Toronto’s starting five are Jose Calderon, Anthony Parker and Joey Graham, while Jackson adds a guy named Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher to the three aforementioned starters. Don’t expect Toronto to huck 35 threes like Barcelona did, as head coach Sam Mitchell is looking to force the action inside to his bigs. All the better for Gasol, Bynum and Co. Let’s see what they can do. |
 (/NBAE/Getty Images)
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Los Angeles Lakers
