LOS ANGELES — The injuries, the heavy schedule and inconsistent lineups had become the Lakers’ new normal. And playing their best amid the chaos has been a challenge.
The Lakers lost six of their past seven games and 12 of their last 21 games coming into Sunday’s game against the Toronto Raptors, the No. 4 team in the Eastern Conference. They had struggled to find the high-level of energy that got them off to a fast start this season.
“When we’re at our best, we have high effort,” Coach JJ Redick said. “We have high connectivity and that’s reflected on both sides of the ball, and there’s a joy that we play with where we root for each other’s success.”
This was one of those games, though, where energy and effort were met with applause all around, especially for center Deandre Ayton, whose historic night enabled the Lakers to defeat the Raptors, 110-93, on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.
Ayton finished with 25 points on 10-of-10 shooting from the field and had 13 rebounds, becoming only the third player in Lakers history to go perfect from the field with at least 10 field goals and at least 10 rebounds, joining Wilt Chamberlain (March 11, 1969) and Mitch Kupchak (Nov. 21, 1981). He is the first Laker to record a 25/10 game on 100% shooting without a turnover.
“The thing is, I never thought I would even be a part of something like that,” Ayton said. “I’m definitely honored and appreciative, but I love this game, so hopefully I get more of those.”
The moment was not lost on the Lakers’ 7-footer.
“I needed that! I needed that,” he shouted in the postgame locker room.
Coming into Sunday’s game, Ayton had just four double-doubles in his past 10 games, which has led to the team’s defensive letdowns, resulting in blowouts and missed opportunities.
But after missing one game because of a knee issue, Ayton returned to the lineup in full force and helped the Lakers hold the Raptors to a season-low 93 points while still focusing on his shooting.
“He was phenomenal,” Redick said. “I mean, he’s had a number of these games where he scores efficiently, but really just from a production standpoint, to get 20-plus points, 10-plus rebounds, he’s had games like this.
“It’s just a huge thing for our team … I thought he made a huge difference today.”
The Lakers, with 12 healthy bodies, used a late-game surge to pull away from the Raptors, bringing back the fun that Redick said had been missing.
But the victory might not have happened if Luka Doncic and LeBron James had decided to sit out.
Both stars were game-time decisions but started, as did veteran guard Marcus Smart, who left the game in the fourth quarter the previous night after colliding with other players in a loss to the Portland Trailblazers.
James, who was playing in only his second back-to-back this season, finished with 24 points, four rebounds and seven assists in 31 minutes. Doncic got 25 points and seven assists.
The Lakers also got Ayton and Jaxson Hayes back after both missed the Portland game, adding more bodies to Redick’s patchwork lineup. The only key player still missing is Austin Reaves, who suffered a Grade 2 ankle sprain on Christmas Day.
Rui Hachimura scored 10 in his fourth game back from missing seven games because of a calf injury.
Collectively, the Lakers struggled to slow the Raptors through three quarters as the teams fought to gain an advantage until late in the third.
Then, holding onto an 87-80 lead heading into the fourth quarter, the Lakers stretched their lead to 11 (94-83) on a 3-pointer by Smart at the 9:38 mark. The Lakers continued to inch ahead as the Raptors’ shooting fell off, especially from outside (21.9%).
The Lakers shot 48.2% from the field and 39.8% from 3-point range.
The Lakers (25-16) pulled away late in the fourth to secure the victory heading into their seven-game, two-week annual Grammy trip. The Lakers play at the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, then return to L.A. to play the Clippers at Intuit Dome before getting back on a plane.
The Raptors (25-19) jumped out to a quick 16-8 lead and maintained a seven-point advantage after one quarter, shooting 52% from the field. Doncic and James got off to an equally slow start. James, whose only other back-to-back games were the Sacramento Kings/Atlanta Hawks series earlier this week, had two points, while Doncic posted 12.
The Lakers finally got their game going, playing with the kind of success and trust Redick talked about before the game. They looked for one another under the basket for alley-oop baskets, rebounded well, while Doncic doubled his 3-pointers (4 of 8) and James scored 10 points, both finding ways around the Raptors top five defense to lead 55-54 at the half.
“This sport is built on trust, and it’s hard to build trust when there’s inconsistency in who the guy next to you is. And so trying to create that every night,” Redick said.