Raptors frustrate Lakers, LeBron at home

MANILA, Philippines – The Toronto Raptors sent the Los Angeles Lakers crashing back to earth with a 121-107 win at the Staples Arena on Sunday, November 4 (Monday, November 5, Philippine time). 

Despite missing star Kawhi Leonard due to foot soreness, the Raptors hiked their record to an Eastern Conference-leading 9-1 slate after imposing their will on the Lakers, who saw a two-game winning streak snapped.

“They just came out and hit us right in the mouth,” said Lakers star LeBron James.

Serge Ibaka fired 34 points on an ultra-efficient 15-of-17 shooting to go with 10 rebounds while Kyle Lowry chalked up 21 points, 15 assists and 6 rebounds to power Toronto, which has now won 3 straight games. 

Serge Ibaka goes 15-17 from the field en route to a career-high 34 PTS in the @Raptors 9th win of the season! #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/VNPRIIzfeX

— NBA (@NBA) November 5, 2018

Pascal Siakam churned out 16 points and 13 rebounds and Danny Green, Jonas Valanciunas and Delon Wright finished with 15, 14, and 11 points, respectively, in the win. 

21 PTS, 15 AST, 6 REB…

Kyle Lowry, the NBA AST leader, was dropping dimes for the @Raptors in LA! #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/QUzoHG1nJG

— NBA (@NBA) November 5, 2018

Although trailing for 20-plus points for the entirety of the game, Los Angeles didn’t go out without a fight as it managed to cut its deficit to 10 points off a Svi Mykhailiuk layup, 117-107, with 2:14 left.

But a Siakam layup a minute later sealed the win for the Raptors.

“It was very, very hard to make a game of it when you are trying to expend so much energy trying to get back into it,” added James. 

Kyle Kuzma paced the Lakers, which dropped to 4-6, with 24 points while James had 18 points and 6 assists.

In New York, D’Angelo Russell scored 13 of his 21 points in the second half, and the Brooklyn Nets kept the Philadelphia 76ers winless on the road with a 122-97 win.

The 76ers committed 28 turnovers and are now 0-5 away from home this season.

“That is not who we are,” said Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said. “That is an unacceptable performance.” – with reports from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com