By IAN HARRISON The Associated Press
TORONTO — The Lakers did what good teams are supposed to do when they face struggling ones – take care of business as efficiently as possible.
LeBron James scored 23 points, Anthony Davis had 21 points and 12 rebounds and the Lakers beat the Toronto Raptors, 128-111, on Tuesday night for their seventh win in eight games.
D’Angelo Russell shot 7 for 14 from 3-point range and scored 25 points, Rui Hachimura had 14 and Max Christie 12 as the Lakers handed slumping Toronto a 14th consecutive loss.
The NBA’s career scoring leader, James shot 10 for 12 and had nine assists.
James came in having matched his career high with nine 3-pointers in Sunday’s win at Brooklyn. The 20-time All-Star took just one shot from distance against the Raptors, connecting with 5:22 left in the third quarter.
Davis sat the entire fourth quarter, while James checked out with 9:22 remaining in the final period after the Lakers extended their lead to 27 at 109-82. The Lakers visit the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.
RJ Barrett scored 28 points and Immanuel Quickley added 20 for the Raptors. Toronto lost a franchise-worst 17 consecutive games in 1997-98.
Toronto’s Gary Trent Jr. sat to rest, while Barrett and Quickley returned after missing time because of personal reasons and reconditioning. The pair combined for 17 points in the first, but the Lakers closed the quarter with an 18-4 spurt to lead 34-25 after one.
The Lakers held a 64-58 edge at the intermission. James and Davis each scored nine points in the third quarter as the Lakers stretched their lead to 100-79 heading into the fourth.
The Raptors remained without five injured players, including starters Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl. Toronto two-way player Jontay Porter missed his fifth straight game as he remains under investigation for gambling allegations.
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Raptors guard Bruce Brown left in the fourth because of a sore right knee.
Lakers forward Cam Reddish was not available for personal reasons, while guard Gabe Vincent sat on the opening night of the back-to-back games as he returns from left knee surgery.
UP NEXT
The Lakers play at the Washington Wizards on Wednesday at 4 p.m. PT.
More to come on this story.
