The Lakers (29-40) will look to break a road skid of 11-straight losses when they meet the Toronto Raptors (39-30) for the second time in three games. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. PT on Spectrum SportsNet.
Here are three things to know before this evening’s contest:
LAST TIME OUT
The Lakers and Raptors met in Los Angeles Monday night resulting in a 114-103 win for Toronto. L.A was in the second half of a back-to-back and it showed right out of the gate.
The Lakers went 3-of-25 (12.0%) from the field, 0-for-13 from three (most attempts without a make in the first quarter by any team in NBA history) and scored just 12 total points – fewest points in a quarter in franchise history.
Gary Trent Jr. led all Raptors in scoring with 28 points, Pascal Siakam (27 points, 11 rebounds) and Precious Achiuwa (10 points, 11 rebounds) each recorded a double-double, and six of the 10 Raptors to play finished with double-digit points.
LeBron James led all scorers with 30 points on 11-of-19 from the field and added nine rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. The performance marked his 29th 30-point game of the season (most James has recorded in one season since tallying 32 such games during the 2017-18 season with Cleveland).
The two teams actually finished with similar stats when they final horn sounded but the poor shooting and the Raptors’ defensive pressure was the deciding factor in Frank Vogel’s eyes.
“It’s a unique defensive style that you’re going against,” Vogel said. “It did speed us up some. What they want is they to pressure, they want to speed you up, and they want to force you into tough decisions. I think we had a few possessions like that.”
THT VS TORONTO
Editor's note: Talen Horton-Tucker was ruled OUT due to an ankle injury (3:30 p.m. PT) Horton-Tucker tallied 20 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one block in Monday’s loss. The 21-year-old has now recorded five 20-point games this season and it marked his first 20-point game since Jan. 19 vs Indiana, where he finished with 20 points in 25 minutes.
While the sample is small, THT has played some of his best basketball against Toronto. In three games, he’s averaged 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists, and has knocked down 19-of-31 (61.3 percent) from the field and has additionally
THT was one of the four Lakers to hit double-digit points last time out and mentioned how missing shots and falling behind early isn’t the recipe for the team, who is holding onto the nine seed by a slim thread.
“When you get an open shot everybody pretty much expects you to make it,” Horton-Tucker said. “When you don’t make it - it’s kind of frustrating. When we struggle to make shots it’s hard for us to win and we realize that. Just got to stay consistent from the start and get on top of teams early.”
SLOWING SIAKAM
Pascal Siakam has been the leading force behind the Raptors current five-game win streak, averaging 27.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 5.6 assists (includes back-to-back double-doubles against the Lakers and Clippers).
Siakam has been consistent from all areas of the floor. He leads the Raptors in scoring (22.0 PPG) and rebounds (8.4 RPG), second on the team in assists (5.1 APG), has the second-highest field percentage (48.6), and the fifth-best three-point percentage (35.8).
League wide, he is second in minutes per game (37.6), sixth in points off turnovers (4.1), and 10th in points in the paint (12.3).
Monday night, Siakam finished the night 9-of-17 from the floor which included 7-of-11 from the interior. The success in the key was due to the Lakers having to play with a smaller lineup with LeBron at the five, as Dwight Howard missed the game due to a family emergency.
Howard is expected to find his way into tonight’s game in an effort to match Siakam’s size and prevent some of his dominance.
The Source: https://www.nba.com/lakers/news/three-things-to-know-lakers-at-raptors-3-18-22
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