Shorthanded Lakers struggle in loss to Raptors.
TORONTO —The shorthanded Lakers fall to the Raptors in their second straight loss, losing 126–113 without key players LeBron James and Anthony Davis, dropping their season record to 10–14.
Due to still dealing with flu-like symptoms, Anthony Davis wasn't able to suit up for the purple and gold, with teammate LeBron James joining him on the sidelines to rest his left ankle that's been plaguing him for the past couple of weeks.
The Lakers were also without Wenyen Gabriel and Patrick Beverly in the rotation, with Gabriel dealing with left shoulder soreness and Beverly out with right knee soreness.
The inconsistencies continued to plague the Lakers, who shot 21% (7-for-33) from three and committed 15 total turnovers.
With LeBron James and Anthony Davis out, the Lakers relied on their lone star, Russell Westbrook, to get them a win.
Westbrook's efforts weren't enough, showing how desperate the Lakers are without LeBron and Davis to add another valuable and impactful piece via trade to their roster.
“I believe leadership is a trait that I have, and I take pride in being able to do that regardless of who's in and who's out,” said Russell Westbrook about his leadership without some key players in the rotation.
In 28 minutes off the bench, Westbrook finished with 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists, shooting 38% on a 5-of-13 shooting total from the floor.
During the first half, Juan Toscano-Anderson twisted his ankle after stepping on teammate Thomas Bryant's foot.
Head coach Darvin Ham said, “It sucks” to see Toscano-Anderson go down because he’s been “a good soldier” despite not getting minutes this year. Toscano-Anderson will get an MRI tomorrow to see what his future status will be.
Dennis Schröder was the Lakers' leading scorer in their loss to Toronto, scoring 18 points on 50% (5-for-10) shooting, adding 5 rebounds and 3 assists in 27 minutes of action.
One of the most rumored Lakers players to be in their next possible trade, guard Kendrick Nunn showed flashes of confidence in Wednesday’s loss (which is something they need out of him), scoring 15 points on 6-of-13 (46%) shooting from the floor in 21 minutes off the bench.
The Lakers will continue their fifth game of a six-game road trip this Friday against the 12–12 Philadelphia 76ers at 4:30 PM on Spectrum SportsNet and ESPN.
