Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic hailed LeBron James after the Los Angeles Lakers defeated his team by 128-111 on Tuesday night. LeBron James scored 23 points, Anthony Davis had 21 points and 12 rebounds as the Lakers registered their seventh win in the last eight games.
James shot 10 for 12 and had nine assists as he continued his good form. The Raptors suffered their 14th straight loss of the season and they had no answers against the Lakers.
“He’s just so elite,” Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said. “It’s amazing to see a player at this age, after 20 years in the NBA, to play at this high a level. We never saw anything like it.”
The Lakers came up with a collective show as D’Angelo Russell shot 7 for 14 from 3-point range and scored 25 points, Rui Hachimura had 14 and Max Christie added 12 points.
After the Lakers were comfortably leading by 27 points, James was substituted by Darvin Ham.
“It absolutely helps,” James said. “Every minute counts. I was able to get back here and get going on the treatment and my prep, and start preparing my body, hopefully, for tomorrow night.”
Ham revealed both James and Davis should be fit to play against the Washington Wizards in their next game.
“We’ll see how they feel when they wake up in the morning but, in all likelihood, I’m sure they’ll play,” Ham said.
The Lakers had a slim six point lead at half time at 64-58 but they extended their lead to 100-79 after out-scoring the opposition by 36-21 in the third quarter.
“We challenged the guys,” Ham said of his halftime message. “They responded with a big defensive third quarter.”
The Lakers will next face the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.
