January 27, 2010

NBA-Lakers Fell Against the Raptors 106-105 and Lost Best Record of the League

By Ally White

The last couple of games have been rocky for the Lakers. After losing against the Cavaliers on Thursday, the LA Lakers, defending NBA champions, hit back with a victory against the Knicks in New York on Sunday. But they stumbled again in their visit to the Air Canada Center, where they lost a close game against the Toronto Raptors 106-105 this past Sunday night.

With the loss, the Lakers (33-11) also lost the best record of the league; they’ve slipped to second, behind the Cleveland Cavs, who boast a record of 34-11.

The Lakers needed a win to keep their record, hoping for another victory in their 8-game road trip. In the first few minutes of the first half, the Lakers started strong, scoring the first baskets for a 14-5 lead with 5:07 left to play. Nevertheless, the Raptors responded with good baskets to close the first quarter with just three points down, 24-21.

Entering the second quarter, the game saw back and forth baskets, but the Lakers managed to keep the lead. They just couldn’t extend it; the greatest advantage they had was just 8 points. The Raptors’ Andrea Bargnani and Jarrett Jack even tied the game three times in the final seconds of the second quarter, and the teams moved into halftime with a close 56-54, just barely in favor of the Lakers.

The Lakers extended their lead again in the third with a 12-5 run in the first four minutes, thanks to the work of Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Ron Artest. The three moved the score to 68-59. But great shooting from the Raptors closed the gap again by the end of the quarter, finishing down by just two points yet again, 84-82.

LA began to slip in the last quarter. Kobe began to miss important shots, followed by a flurry of basket exchanges, leaving the score tied 5 times in the quarter. With 1:46 left, the Lakers were narrowly up, 105-101, and they looked likely to win – that is, until Shannon Brown turned the ball in a bad pass. Toronto took advantage of the mistake to score a three-point play to leave the score at 105-104 with 1:16 left.

The Lakers called for a timeout, giving Kobe a chance to shoot, but the superstar missed the three-pointer with 12.9 seconds on the clock. The Raptors then made a play, giving the ball to Turkoglu, who was fouled by Gasol with 1.2 seconds. Turkoglu made the two free throws, and the Lakers, desperate in the last seconds of the game, tried for another Bryant three-pointer. He missed again.

The Lakers lost 106-105.

After the game, Lakers coach Phil Jackson gave credit to Toronto’s great defense, particularly in the third quarter, and blamed the loss on the turnovers and the lack of aggressiveness in his team’s defense.

“They played some rabid, tenacious defense from about the middle of the third quarter. We need to be able to play better D and hold teams down and we're just not doing that right now,” Jackson said.

The best scorers for the Toronto Raptors were Andrea Bargnani with 22 points and 8 rebounds; Jarrett Jack with 18 points and 4 assists; Chris Bosh with 18 points and 13 rebounds; Marco Bellinelli with 15 points; and ultimately DeMar DeRozan with 10 points and 6 rebounds. For the L.A Lakers the best scorers were Kobe Bryant with 27 points, 16 rebounds and 9 assists; Pau Gasol with 22 points and 9 rebounds; Andrew Bynum with 21 points and 9 rebounds; and finally Jordan Farmar with 17 points and 4 rebounds.

About the Author

Ally White is a top senior copy writer on NBA games and sports action for the online sports betting site: http://www.instantactionsports.com

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