Thomas Bryant #31 and Max Christie #10 of the Los Angeles Lakers battle with Pascal Siakam #43 of the Toronto Raptors for a loose ball during the second half of their NBA game at Scotiabank Arena on December 7, 2022 in Toronto, Canada. Cole Burston/Getty Images/AFP
Pascal Siakam scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and the host Toronto Raptors defeated the depleted Los Angeles Lakers 126-113 Wednesday night.
The Lakers were without their two stars LeBron James (ankle) and Anthony Davis (illness). Patrick Beverley (knee) also did not play.
Fred VanVleet also had 25 points and had seven assists for the Raptors, who completed a 2-1 homestand.
O.G. Anunoby scored 23 points for Toronto. Gary Trent Jr. chipped in with 18 points, Chris Boucher had 16 points and Scottie Barnes had 13 points and a career-matching 17 rebounds.
Dennis Schroder scored 18 points for the Lakers. Russell Westbrook added 16 points and nine rebounds, Thomas Bryant had 16 points, Kendrick Nunn had 15 points, Lonnie Walker IV scored 12 points and Austin Reaves had 10 points.
The Lakers are 2-2 after four games of a six-game road trip that started with two wins.
Pascal Siakam took care of business tonight 💼
🌶️ 25 PTS | 10 REB | 7 AST | 2 STL | 51.5 FPTS#WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/wiF4jxoRmU
— NBA Fantasy (@NBAFantasy) December 8, 2022
Despite being outscored 28-27 in the third quarter, Toronto took a 22-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Anunoby’s running layup stretched the lead to 27 points with 10:39 to play in the fourth quarter.
Lakers forward Juan Toscano-Anderson left the game during the fourth quarter with an apparent leg injury. He had three points.
Toronto scored the first 11 points of the game and led 39-31 after the first quarter.
The Lakers moved to within five points when Schroder made two free throws with 7:11 to play in the second quarter. Toronto restored its 11-point lead on VanVleet’s 3-pointer with 4:17 to go in the first half.
VanVleet’s 14-footer completed a 16-0 Toronto surge that bumped the lead to 21 points. The lead reached 26 before Walker hit a 3-pointer to finish the first-half scoring with Toronto leading 70-47.
The lead was reduced to 15 when Schroder made two free throws with 4:49 to go in the third. The lead was cut to 13 but VanVleet’s 11-footer with 1:05 remaining in the third quarter increased the lead to 24 points. Walker’s layup completed the third-quarter scoring with Toronto leading 97-75.
Precious Achiuwa (ankle), Juancho Hernangomez (ankle) and Otto Porter Jr., (toe) were out for Toronto.