Lakers fall to Raptors, 108-103, for fifth road loss in a row

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.

The Raptors were led by Ed Davis with 12 points and Jose Calderon with 10. Toronto shot 53.5% from the field.

The Lakers improved after an awful first quarter, shooting 45% for the game. They also made up some of the deficit at the free-throw line by making nine of 12 shot while the Raptors hit four of five.

Howard finished left the game with only five points and two rebounds in 17 minutes of play.

Raptors 29, Lakers 20 (end of first quarter)

The Lakers had a difficult first quarter against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday morning, quickly falling behind by 17 points.

Slowly the Lakers worked their way back into the game, getting Toronto big men Aaron Gray and Amir Johnson into foul trouble.

The Lakers shot only 30.4% from the field. Kobe Bryant missed five consecutive shots to start the game and made only one of eight for two points two points. Earl Clark gave the Lakers a spark off the bench, scoring five to match starters Pau Gasol and Steve Nash.

The Raptors shot 52.2% from the field, led by eight points from Jose Calderon.

Pregame

The Lakers (17-22) visit the Toronto Raptors (14-26) on Sunday morning.

The Raptors have struggled with multiple injuries (Andrea Bargnani, Jonas Valanciunas, Linas Kleiza, etc.). The Lakers are closing in on actually being healthy, although Steve Blake (groin) isn’t ready to play and Jordan Hill (hip) is out for the season.

Toronto usually plays the Lakers well, and while they’ve lost four consecutive games, the Raptors are often quite competitive (even in defeat).

For a more in-depth breakdown, check out Preview: Lakers at Raptors.

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Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.