Pau Gasol scored 30 points, Kobe Bryant added 23 points and six assists, and the Lakers remained unbeaten with a 108-103 victory Friday night despite failing to shake the Raptors throughout an uncomfortable fourth quarter.
Steve Blake scored 14 points and Shannon Brown added 12 for the Lakers, who improved to 6-0 even after struggling mightily to put away Toronto, which frequently seemed to be a couple of baskets away from a stunning upset.
“It was a challenge,” Jackson said. “I kind of valued the fact that they gave us a game and took the lead. I thought it was good for our team to have to face a little adversity.”
After struggling to find faults in the Lakers’ first week of action, Jackson won’t lack for flaws to address in practice Saturday. Toronto outrebounded Los Angeles 49-31 and made a dismaying succession of uncontested drives to the hoop, yet still lost its third straight on a four-game road trip.
The Lakers improved to 6-0 for the fifth time in franchise history. Los Angeles went 7-0 twice in the past decade, and its 11-0 start in 1997 was the club’s best ever.
“We’re a talented team, but we still have a lot more room to grow,” said Matt Barnes, who managed just two points for Los Angeles. “This is a good reminder for us. We gave them too many layups. It was kind of a layup drill there for a little while, and we can’t have that.”
Los Angeles trailed late in the third before making a 15-3 run led by Gasol and four reserves. But the Lakers never managed to push their lead into double digits in the fourth quarter, and Andrea Bargnani’s free throw with 30 seconds left made it 104-100.
Bryant then hit two free throws and emphatically swatted away Linus Kleiza’s dunk attempt with 10 seconds left to seal it.
“They’re a very unorthodox team,” Bryant said. “You’ve got rebounders coming in from all over the place. You’ve got the floor spread, and very athletic guys that are crashing and jumping, so it’s just their style of play.”
Leandro Barbosa scored 15 of his 17 points in the second quarter for the Raptors, who have lost nine straight road games against the Lakers. DeMar DeRozan scored 15 points and Bargnani added 14 – and if they hadn’t made 21 turnovers, the Raptors might have pulled the upset.
Pau Gasol scored 30 points, Kobe Bryant added 23 points and six assists, and the Lakers remained unbeaten with a 108-103 victory Friday night despite failing to shake the Raptors throughout an uncomfortable fourth quarter.
Steve Blake scored 14 points and Shannon Brown added 12 for the Lakers, who improved to 6-0 even after struggling mightily to put away Toronto, which frequently seemed to be a couple of baskets away from a stunning upset.
“It was a challenge,” Jackson said. “I kind of valued the fact that they gave us a game and took the lead. I thought it was good for our team to have to face a little adversity.”
After struggling to find faults in the Lakers’ first week of action, Jackson won’t lack for flaws to address in practice Saturday. Toronto outrebounded Los Angeles 49-31 and made a dismaying succession of uncontested drives to the hoop, yet still lost its third straight on a four-game road trip.
The Lakers improved to 6-0 for the fifth time in franchise history. Los Angeles went 7-0 twice in the past decade, and its 11-0 start in 1997 was the club’s best ever.
“We’re a talented team, but we still have a lot more room to grow,” said Matt Barnes, who managed just two points for Los Angeles. “This is a good reminder for us. We gave them too many layups. It was kind of a layup drill there for a little while, and we can’t have that.”
Los Angeles trailed late in the third before making a 15-3 run led by Gasol and four reserves. But the Lakers never managed to push their lead into double digits in the fourth quarter, and Andrea Bargnani’s free throw with 30 seconds left made it 104-100.
Bryant then hit two free throws and emphatically swatted away Linus Kleiza’s dunk attempt with 10 seconds left to seal it.
“They’re a very unorthodox team,” Bryant said. “You’ve got rebounders coming in from all over the place. You’ve got the floor spread, and very athletic guys that are crashing and jumping, so it’s just their style of play.”
Leandro Barbosa scored 15 of his 17 points in the second quarter for the Raptors, who have lost nine straight road games against the Lakers. DeMar DeRozan scored 15 points and Bargnani added 14 – and if they hadn’t made 21 turnovers, the Raptors might have pulled the upset.
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