Rui Hachimura hit the game-winning corner 3-pointer at the buzzer Thursday night and the visiting Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Toronto Raptors 123-120.
LeBron James set up the winning basket with his 11th assist of the game. He finished with eight points to end his streak of 1,297 consecutive games with double figures in scoring. The last time James failed to reach 10 points in a game was Jan. 5, 2007 against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Austin Reaves led L.A. with 44 points and 10 assists in the opener of a three-game road trip.
Deandre Ayton added 17 points, Jake LaRavia scored 14 and Hachimura and Nick Smith Jr. each scored 12.
Scottie Barnes had 23 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Raptors. Brandon Igram added 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Ja’Kobe Walter scored 17, Immanuel Quickley and Sandro Mamukelashvili added 13 apiece, Collin Murray-Boyles scored 12 and Jamison Battle scored 10.
The Lakers were without Luka Doncic (personal) and Marcus Smart (back).
The Raptors were without RJ Barrett (knee) and Jakob Poeltl (back).
The Lakers took a two-point lead into the fourth quarter, extending it to five with Smith’s 3-pointer. Battle’s 3-pointer tied the game at 108 with 7:47 to play, and his 20-footer gave Toronto a two-point lead with just under six minutes to go. Reaves tied the game at 112 with two free throws.
Toronto went ahead by three on Battle’s layup with 4:54 left. Reaves tied the game at 120 on a floater with 41.2 seconds left before Hachimura won it at the buzzer.
The Lakers led by as many as 11 points before settling for a 31-26 lead after one quarter.
The Lakers led by 10 after James’ driving layup with 9:32 left in the second quarter. That dwindled to two on Walter’s 3-pointer with 5:21 remaining. L.A. scored the next 10 points, taking advantage of Toronto’s seven straight missed shots. The lead reached 13 on Jaxson Hayes’ layup with 1:34 to go. Mamukelashvili nailed a 3-pointer with 5.3 seconds left, cutting the Lakers’ lead to 67-58 at halftime.
Toronto tied the game at 79 on Walter’s 3-pointer with 7:26 remaining in the third quarter. Murray-Boyles gave Toronto a one-point lead on a tip with 6:07 left. Reaves drained a 3-pointer, and James followed with a layup to put the Lakers ahead by four. Reaves scored 22 points in the loosely played third quarter and was the reason L.A. led 100-98 heading to the fourth.
