LeBron James scored 36 points (22 in the paint), and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Toronto Raptors 128-123 in overtime.
Russell Westbrook made a pull-up 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter to tie it at 116, and the Lakers outscored the Raptors 12-7 in overtime.
The Raptors had the ball down 2 with 32 seconds left, but Austin Reaves stole the ball from Scottie Barnes, lifting the Lakers’ chance to win from 76% to 87%. A basket would have tied the game.
During clutch time, the Lakers outscored the Raptors 23-22. James (No. 8 in clutch points, 2021-22) scored 11 of the Lakers’ 23 on 4 for 7 shooting and 1 for 2 at the line. In the fourth quarter and overtime, Westbrook had 4 of his 10 assists, 1 of them on a basket by James that tied the game and 2 on baskets by James and Avery Bradley that put the Lakers ahead.
Westbrook had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, his 10th triple-double of the season. James scored 16 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter.
For the Raptors, Barnes had a career-high 31 points, 17 rebounds and 6 assists on 14 for 21 shooting, and Gary Trent Jr. added 23 points (12 on 4 3-pointers). Fred VanVleet had 20 points, 7 assists and 4 steals. The Raptors had 3 20-point scorers.
The Lakers shot 49.0% from the field and 44.2% from 3 to the Raptors’ 50.5% and 32.4%. The Raptors outscored the Lakers 27-11 on the fast break. The Lakers’ starters were outscored 33-23 in 9 minutes together.