-A short-handed Toronto Raptors club gave it everything they had this afternoon, but eventually fell 120 to 110 to the LA Lakers. The Raps were without Sonny Weems again, but also without leading scorer Andrea Bargnani, who injured his ankle late in Friday night's game against the New Jersey Nets.
-Minus these two, and with Reggie Evans of course on the shelf, it was going to be a tall order against the Lake Show, winners of their past four road games. TO brought it early however, scoring 34 points in the first quarter and actually holding a lead for a good chunk of time. However the Lakers second unit closed the gap in the next quarter and by the time the half hit, this one was done.
-The key? Well there were a few for the Lakers. Once they slowed down the tempo, the Raps had a tough time scoring in the half-court and LA went on a run. As well, minus Evans, Bargnani, and with Ed Davis having a rough afternoon, the Lake Show dominated the glass, out-rebounding Toronto 46 to 35. Kobe led the way for his club with 20, but he had lots of help as five other Lakers scored in double figures.
-For the Raptors it was the Linas Kleiza show. Linas had 26 points and 10 rebounds and his best regular season game to date. He took good shots, was aggressive at both ends, and did a solid job on D and on the glass. However without Jose Calderon, his day wouldn't have been nearly as good, and in fact, the Raptors would have gotten rocked. Calderon had 20 points and 12 assists including many other sweet plays that allowed for easy looks from TO. It was great to see and hopefully the Raps can get this level of play from number ocho when Bargnani and Weems return.
-Hard to be upset by this loss even though Toronto briefly held the lead. The Lakers are simply a much deeper and talented club, and that shone through in the end. However Toronto fought hard, and various individuals like Joey Dorsey, Julian Wright and DeMar DeRozan had flashes of brilliance, flashes that hopefully help this Raptors team not only against the Pistons in their next match, but also further down the road this season.