Ibaka drops 34 as Raptors pound Lakers

[November 05, 2018]  Serge Ibaka scored a career-best 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the visiting Toronto Raptors defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 121-107 Sunday night.

Kyle Lowry added 21 points and matched his season best with 15 assists to set a club record of eight straight games with 10 or more assists. It was his seventh double-double this season.

Ibaka shot 15-for-17 from the field as the Raptors played without Kawhi Leonard, who has a jammed left foot. The Raptors are off to a franchise best start at 9-1.

Pascal Siakam had 16 points and 13 rebounds for his third double-double of the season, Danny Green had 15 points, Jonas Valanciunas 14 and Delon Wright had 11 points for the Raptors.

Kyle Kuzma had 24 points for the Lakers while LeBron James had 18 points, Brandon Ingram 16, Lonzo Ball 12 and Rajon Rondo 10.
 

The Raptors led by as many as 31 points in the first quarter and took a 21-point lead into the fourth quarter.

The Raptors led by 19 with 7:02 to go in the fourth quarter after Valanciunas made two free throws. The Lakers went on a 10-0 surge to climb to within 12 with 4:14 left.

The Raptors had a furious start. Ibaka hit his eighth field goal in eight attempts while Lowry picked up his ninth assist when the Raptors took a 34-10 lead with 3:45 to play in the first quarter.

The lead reached 31 after Fred VanVleet converted two free throws with 2:21 left.

Ibaka finished the first quarter with 20 points and the Raptors led 42-17. Toronto shot 15-for-22 from the field, while the Lakers went 7-for-21.

Toronto Raptors forward Serge Ibaka (9) moves the ball against Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma (0) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Lakers had a 6-0 run to cut Toronto's lead to 20 with 5:44 left in the second quarter.

But the Raptors had a 69-38 lead when Siakam made a driving dunk.

Ibaka's 26 points led the Raptors to a 71-49 halftime lead. Lowry had nine points and 12 assists in the first half. James had nine points for the Lakers.

Ibaka's dunk with 8:01 left in the third quarter had the lead at 85-58.

The Lakers made an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 17 with 3:18 to play on Ingram's 16-foot shot.

The Raptors led 101-80 at the end of the third quarter.

--Field Level Media

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.