Kyle Lowry had 33 points and a season-high 14 rebounds, and the defending champion Toronto Raptors went on a 21-5 run in the fourth quarter to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 107-92 for their fifth straight win.
It was tied at 83 when Fred VanVleet’s driving layup put the Raptors ahead for good with 5:58 left. Lowry scored 7 points and OG Anunoby added 6 as they pulled away to a 104-88 lead with 1:50 left.
In the fourth quarter, VanVleet had 5 of his 11 assists, 1 of them on a basket by Marc Gasol that tied the game and 1 on a basket by Anunoby that put the Raptors ahead.
Anunoby scored 23 points on 8 for 9 shooting. Anunoby scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter. VanVleet assisted on 5 of Anunoby’s 8 baskets, 2 of them during the 21-5 run.
For the Lakers, LeBron James had 20 points (8 during an 11-0 run across the third and fourth quarters) and 10 rebounds.
The Raptors shot 41.7% from the field and 41.2% from 3 to the Lakers’ 35.4% and 25.0%. The Lakers got 8 offensive rebounds, about 5 fewer than usual for the shots they missed. They outscored the Raptors 50-15 off the bench. The Raptors’ starters outscored the Lakers 36-17 in 16 minutes together.