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Lakers center Dwight Howard is fouled by Raptors power forward Ed Davis in the first half Sunday. (Nathan Denette / Associated Press / January 20, 2013) |
Raptors 108, Lakers 103 (final)
The Lakers had no defense for the Raptors, falling 108-103 on Sunday morning in Toronto.
With Dwight Howard's ejection in the second quarter combined with an awful shooting performance from Kobe Bryant (10 of 32 from the field), the Lakers only challenged the Raptors in spurts.
Toronto shot 54.8% from the field, led by Jose Calderon with 22 points and nine assists.
Coach Mike D'Antoni tried to stop Calderon by having Bryant guard him but the Lakers never really found a way to slow the veteran point guard from Spain in losing their fifth consecutive road game.
The Raptors also got 18 points apiece from Landry Fields and Ed Davis. Alan Anderson added 14 off the bench.
The Lakers were led by Bryant's 26 points but he shot only 31.3% from the field and had six turnovers. Pau Gasol had one of his best games of the season offensively, scoring 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting but grabbed he had only five rebounds.
Earl Clark was again a bright spot for the Lakers, notching a double-double with 14 points and 14 boards. Steve Nash had 16 points and nine assists.
The Lakers, who shot 43.2% from the field, fall to 17-23, unable to make up ground on the slumping Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Portland Trail Blazers.
The Lakers play again on Monday night in Chicago against the resurgent Bulls.
The Raptors improved their record to 15-26.
Raptors 83, Lakers 70 (end of third quarter)
The Raptors continued to get whatever they wanted against the Lakers, shooting 55.4% from the field. Ed Davis led all scorers with 18 points, but it was Jose Calderon that hurt the Lakers the most with 16 points and nine assists.
Toronto also got 16 points from Landry Fields and 11 from Alan Anderson.
Pau Gasol started the second half at center for Dwight Howard (ejected), with Earl Clark starting at power forward. The Lakers shot 41% from the field through three quarters.
Gasol led the Lakers with 17 ponits but the big story is that Kobe Bryant has struggled from the field, hitting only five of 20 (25%) shots for 13 points.
Raptors 53, Lakers 49 (halftime)
Dwight Howard was ejected with 1:18 left in the first half after drawing his second technical when he got tied up under the basket with Toronto swingman Alan Anderson.
The Lakers started the period strong, trimming the Raptors' lead to six points. Toronto quickly responded, extending the lead back to double digits.
Earl Clark gave the Lakers tremendous energy while sparking a 10-0 run to help them get back in the game. He finished the first half with nine points and eight boards in 16 minutes of play.
