Lakers Lead Raptors at the Half, 58-49 (videos)

The Lakers got off to a slow start.  Kyle Lowry found his jumpshot early to give the Raptors a quick 6-2 lead.  Boozer was aggressive early, and came out with a quick 8 points of his own, all from midrange.

More from Lake Show Life

• 3 most underrated players currently on the Los Angeles Lakers roster
• 2 Lakers who would benefit the most from a Kyrie Irving trade
• Victor Oladipo’s Russell Westbrook comments are terrible sign for Lakers
• 4 Free agent fits for the Lakers while they wait on Kyrie Irving
• 3 Most likely positions the Lakers will use for the last roster spot

The Raptors lost a key player prior to the Laker game, DeMar DeRozan.  His injury puts him out for other a month.  In his place, Louis Williams stepped in.  This year for the Raptors, he’s averaging 14.3 points per game on 44.9% from the field, 40.9% behind the arc, in just 20.9 minutes of play.

This gave Greivis Vasquez the start, placing Lowry in an off-ball role.

After Jeremy Lin hit a three-pointer, both teams cooled off a bit.  Ed Davis and Nick Young were subbed in at the 4:42 mark, where Nick Young made an immediate impact with a three-pointer.

Kobe Bryant wasn’t being his passive self.  He looked to create his own shot as well, with a mid-range fadeaway at the free throw area, and another along the baseline against Terrence Ross.  He finished the first quarter with four consecutive field goals.

The Lakers have the lead, 27-24.

The Lakers continued their hot shooting.  Into the second quarter, the Lakers were shooting 61% from the field and hit 4 of 7 behind the arc.  Ellington started off hot with a couple of made three-pointers.

The Raptors stepped up their aggression halfway through the quarter.  They led the Lakers in points in the paint, 30 – 4.  It’s a reflection of poor help defense in the paint, as well as lack of containment from the perimeter.

Kobe was in a facilitating mode, and found Boozer a couple times.

Kobe continued his facilitating, hitting Jordan Hill with a sweet behind the back pass for his seventh assist.

Both teams continued to play uninspired defense as both teams shot well from the field at the half.

The score at the half: Lakers 58, Raptors 49.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow