The Toronto Raptors were unaware of the absence of the Los Angeles Lakers, who did not have LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and quietly won by 126 to 113 the duel disputed this Wednesday (7), at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, at the Canada.

The Raptors showed huge superiority in the first half of the game to already hand off a good win over a rival who were without their two main stars on the court and found no answers for the hosts, who played with maximum strength.

While Toronto converted 44.3% of its baskets, with 47 of 106, the Lakers had 42.5% of attacks, 37/87. In line with the three, low productivity from both teams, with the Canadians appearing with a conversion rate of 27.9% (12 of 43) and the California team with 21.2% (a meager 7 of 33).

Individual highlights were Pascal Siakam, with a double-double of 25 points and ten rebounds, in addition to seven assists, Fred VanVleet, with the same 25 points as his teammate, in addition to four rebounds and seven assists and OG Anunoby, with 23 points, six rebounds and one assist.

Adding to the star trio, winger Scottie Barnes had a double-double, with 13 points and 17 rebounds and bankers Gary Trent Jr. and Chris Boucher put in strong performances, the former appearing with 18 points and two rebounds and second with 16 points and seven rebounds.

For the Lakers, the German Dennis Schröder was the top scorer, with 18 and five rebounds and three assists. Replacing Anthony Davis, Thomas Bryant appeared with 16 points, five rebounds and two assists and Russell Westbrook again came off the bench with 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

Finally, a great performance from the trash team of Damian Jones, with a double-double of ten points and ten rebounds.

THE GAME:

The game started with the Raptors giving a show to the Lakers, who felt the absence of stalwarts LeBron James and Anthony Davis too much. Fred VanVleet opened the scoring with a three-pointer and in the blink of an eye the Canadian team was already winning by 11-0.

It was only then that Austin Reaves scored for LA, converting a field goal from the perimeter in an attempt to “poke the team out of the hole”.

The first part was dominated by Toronto, who won easily 39-31, without major threats from a rival who was out of place on the court.

Okay @FredVanVleet 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/dxkORXH9MD

—Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) December 8, 2022

This became even more evident during the second quarter, in which the Raptors continued to be left behind and applied a “chocolate” to the Los Angeles team (they had a 16-0 run), winning easily by 31-16 with a good performance from VanVleet and Siakam and taking advantage of the locker room: 70 to 47.

In the second half, the Lakers evened things up, but a lot of that was due to the Raptors “taking their foot off the gas.” On the rare occasions the California franchise has threatened to hit the scoreboard, VanVleet and Siakam have again appeared to give the rival a “cold shower”.

LA won the third period by 27-26 and the teams entered the final quarter with the game virtually decided and the score clocked in at 97-75.

In the fourth quarter, it was the reserves who played. On the Toronto side, an interesting partial from Gary Trent Jr. and Chris Boucher and for the Lakers who caught the eye were Damian Jones and Kendrick Nunn.

The visitors were better at the end of the match and won 38 to 29, but without causing any major scares among the locals. End of the match in Canada with victory for the Raptors: 126 to 113.

UPCOMING CONFRONTATIONS:

With two straight losses on the road, where they lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers and now to the Toronto Raptors, the Lakers have slowed the recovery in the season. However, the team improved and started to show signs that they could fight for bigger things than their fans expected for the year. The team is still in an uncomfortable 13th place in the Western Conference, with a 10-14 campaign, but its production has increased.

Still not knowing if they will have LeBron James and Anthony Davis, LA has a tough commitment against the Philadelphia 76ers, in an away game, which takes place this Friday (9).

The Raptors, ranked 7th in the Eastern Conference with a 13-12 campaign, face two games in a row against the young team of the Orlando Magic, both in Florida, the first taking place this Friday and the second Sunday ( 11). .

Photo: Reproduction Twitter Raptors