Quick Reaction: Lakers 123, Raptors 120

Started with a miss down low on offence but responded with a rebound and block on defence immediately, plus a dunk shortly after. He was missing some shots he usually makes, but his shot blocking was spectacular early. After struggling with his shot in the first half, he came out with a perfect four for four from the field in the third quarter when he scored nine straight points for Toronto. Barnes actually did a great job of playing the passing lanes on the defensive end, too, as he had a really nice steal in the third quarter that led to two Sandro free throw attempts. The playmaking and glass work were good, like always, and he just missed out on a triple-double by one assist. He started to cook offensively yet again late in the third quarter when it was the Barnes, Shead, Battle, CMB and Dick unit as he was the focal point and his three-point shooting was once again amazing. He was playing his heart out late in the game when he won a big offensive rebound for Toronto and denied LeBron James in the paint.

Early minutes before Ochai Agbaji and Gradey Dick, but he was only out there for a few minutes and wasn’t able to do much. He got another opportunity late in the third quarter and immediately got a chance at a clean corner three when Barnes made a nice bounce pass to evade a double team, but he unfortunately missed his opportunity. Followed it up with a nice back-door cut from the corner to finish a no-look Scottie dish at the rim. He converted on a fast break three-pointer courtesy of Jamal Shead, and one more three after that, midway through the fourth quarter. His second shift was much more productive by a mile.

Quiet first shift as his first shot of the game came with under five minutes to go, but he did manage to make a triple late in the first quarter, followed by a floater early in the second quarter. Started the second half immediately with a floater. He wasn’t on the ball a ton this game, to be fair and was making the most of his catch-and-shoot opportunities, mostly beyond the arc. He made a nice reverse and one at the rim early in the fourth quarter and has looked much better as a finisher this season overall. He had a huge steal late in the game that led to a Mamu and one finish on the other end to give Toronto a two-point lead with less than three minutes to go in the game, and surprisingly played a solid game despite not touching the ball much.

Some good decision-making on the ball early with an assist and another pass that led to a wide-open look, and then he got his shot going once the defence opened up. His three-ball was struggling, however. His playmaking was great today as he was able to generate so many open looks for his teammates with his passing. His shotmaking got much more consistent at the end of the third quarter with two straight makes in the mid-range. He made an unbelievable shot-clock-beating mid-range jumper early in the fourth quarter that cut the Lakers lead down to one point. Although he went shotless for long periods of time consistently, he came through in the fourth quarter when Toronto needed it the most.

Brought energy on the offensive glass early. He made a big three midway through the second quarter when the Lakers started to take momentum of the game with a 41-31 lead. His intensity in the second shift was much better as he had a great stop on defence and pushed the pace in transition to find Gradey Dick for a corner three. His offence came alive in the second quarter as he scored all 10 points of his first half in the quarter. He kept his momentum going with a nice and one finish at the start of the third quarter. He kept it going all quarter with a couple more shots on wide-open looks, but wasn’t given more minutes after that.

Started in place of the injured Poeltl and had a great hustle play getting back on defence early in transition. He was good on the glass early on as he reeled in multiple rebounds. Knocked down his first triple of the game late in the second quarter when the offence really needed it, and ended the first half with one more triple from the corner. Made a heads-up play in the third quarter when Mamu played the role of an NFL safety as Scottie Barnes threw him a pass that was too high, but he adjusted quickly by tapping the ball to a nearby teammate. Not only was Mamu good on the glass, but he also did a great job of protecting the rim, especially early in the fourth quarter. Mamu’s offence was hot and cold, but he just made winning plays all night long, especially with some great passes.

Successful trip to the foul line after running the floor in the first quarter. Was able to make two catch-and-shoot threes in the second quarter shortly after. Although he had an efficient shooting first half, he started off his second half with a bad turnover in transition when he tried to force his way into the paint alone. That was it for his second half, and a promising start came crashing down with a limited run in the half.

Drew a charge during his first shift in the first quarter as his first big play. He did a good job of penetrating into the Cavaliers’ paint tonight and was even rewarded with a few trips to the free-throw line as well as some nice drive and kick reads that led to assists. Committed a poor three-point shooting foul on Austin Reaves late in the third quarter as Reaves was shooting the ball from all over the gym tonight. After a bit of a pedestrian first half, his playmaking really picked up in the second half, especially in crunch time during the fourth quarter.

Early action due to Sandro being moved up in the depth chart, leaving a hole for backup centre minutes. He was solid on the defensive glass in his first shift. That was it for Mogbo as he didn’t get a second look in the second half.

Threw a nice back-door bounce pass to a cutting Ja’Kobe Walter for a slam dunk on his first possession of the game. Had a block on LeBron a few plays later in transition. Did a good job of running the floor just like last game. He also tried his luck with the three-ball early, as he shot it surprisingly well earlier in the season, before not shooting one for a while, and he looked comfortable once again beyond the arc. He made an immediate impact play again after almost hooking up with a Brandon Ingram lob, but he stayed with the miss and was able to put it back for a quick bucket. He’s now scored in double figures for three straight games and played another great game tonight.

Starting Sandro out of necessity didn’t end up hurting the Raptors, as he gave Toronto good minutes. Rotations were good and adjusted accordingly to how the team was playing, and the bench played well tonight, but Toronto fell just short at the buzzer in a good showing, honestly.