LOS ANGELES — A loss to Toronto provided both a bright glimpse into the future and a frustrating look at the present for the Lakers.
Julius Randle collected his third double-double, while D’Angelo Russell went for a career-high scoring night, but the Raptors (8-6) managed to rally while the duo rested in the second half.
L.A.’s starters pushed the purple and gold to a seven-point lead five minutes into the third quarter. But as the opening lineup went out, the Raptors feasted. The visitors finished the frame on a 20-5 run to take an eight-point lead into the fourth. During this stretch, the Lakers shot just 1-of-9.
For the second straight game, an opposing point guard burned the Lakers (2-10). Four days after Brandon Knight went off for a 30-point triple-double, Kyle Lowry tied his career-high with seven 3-pointers on 10 tries. Each of his baskets came from behind the arc, as he finished with 25 points to break Toronto’s three-game losing streak.
The Lakers shot 45.5 percent but couldn’t overcome the Raptors’ 15-8 advantage in triples.
“They just got loose way too much on the perimeter,” head coach Byron Scott said. “They are good shooting team. I thought a couple of times Kyle just walked into them, (and) we didn’t put enough pressure on him.”
This 3-point deficiency was in spite of Russell knocking down a trio of his own treys, as he shot 7-of-16 for a personal-best 17 points.
“I just tried to be more assertive,” Russell said. “I tried to be everywhere — (a) ball-seeker. If I can creep in and get some steals and get early transition buckets and try to get in there and rebound … it worked out well.”
Meantime, Randle — who had shot just 7-of-23 in his last three games — broke out offensively despite game-long foul trouble. He finished with a team-best 18 points (6-of-9) and a dozen rebounds. The 59.5 percent free throw shooter even hit all six of his tries at the charity stripe.
Bryant plays 37
Despite Scott wanting to keep Kobe Bryant under a 30-minute limit, the 17-time all-star played a season-high 37 minutes. Scott said that the Lakers needed him to try to make a late run, while Bryant himself said he felt “great” after having three days off to rest.
Bryant finished with 10 points and five assists and offered his own take on the third-quarter swing.
“I never thought I’d see the day when I become the voice of ball-movement reason,” Bryant said, laughing. “Then you have an issue.”
Notes
The game featured 15 lead changes and 10 ties. … Compton native and USC product DeMar DeRozan finished with 18 points for Toronto. … Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas exited the game in the second quarter with a fractured fourth metacarpal of his left hand. … A sellout crowd of 18,997 filled Staples Center.
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