Download
NBA highlights on March 10: Bench squad takes Lakers to victory
Li Xiang
Austin Reaves (C) of the Los Angeles Lakers drives toward the rim in the game against the Toronto Raptors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, March 10, 2023. /CFP
Austin Reaves (C) of the Los Angeles Lakers drives toward the rim in the game against the Toronto Raptors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, March 10, 2023. /CFP

Austin Reaves (C) of the Los Angeles Lakers drives toward the rim in the game against the Toronto Raptors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, March 10, 2023. /CFP

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Toronto Raptors 122-112 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Friday, securing their third straight win.

The purple and gold's bench squad made the biggest contributions to their victory by outscoring their Raptors counterpart 61-12. Dennis Schroder, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura combined to drop 57 points for the team. Schroder also had seven assists and four steals.

Reaves was the best-performing Laker off the bench as he shot 6-for-8 from the field within the 3-point line. He didn't score the most, but did the most significant work at the right time. The Raptors began the third quarter with a 19-2 run in less than six minutes, not only wiping their eight-point deficit (70-62) quickly, but also coming to lead by as many as 12 points (87-75) in this period.

Dennis Schroder (#17) of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots in the game against the Toronto Raptors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, March 10, 2023. /CFP
Dennis Schroder (#17) of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots in the game against the Toronto Raptors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, March 10, 2023. /CFP

Dennis Schroder (#17) of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots in the game against the Toronto Raptors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, March 10, 2023. /CFP

The Lakers only scored 15 points in the third quarter and seven of them came from Reaves. Not only did he make the team's first field goal, he also earned five free throws to keep the team's offense running when the rest of the team fell into a scoring drought on the court.

The purple and gold wouldn't have held out to the turning point in the fourth quarter without the efforts of Reaves. D'Angelo Russell and Schroder combined to drain six triples to get 26 points for the Lakers in this period. Reaves contributed another seven points for the team to gain the lead back and extend it to double digits (118-106) when there were less than three minutes left.

D'Angelo Russell (#1) of the Los Angeles Lakers penetrates in the game against the Toronto Raptors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, March 10, 2023. /CFP
D'Angelo Russell (#1) of the Los Angeles Lakers penetrates in the game against the Toronto Raptors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, March 10, 2023. /CFP

D'Angelo Russell (#1) of the Los Angeles Lakers penetrates in the game against the Toronto Raptors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, March 10, 2023. /CFP

Despite the loss, the Raptors gave full play to their specialties in Friday's game. They had 14 steals, forced 20 turnovers by the Lakers and turned them into 20 fast break points. They were more productive in the paint where they outscored their opponents 66-56. OG Anunoby made 12 of his 14 field goals (FGs) to get 31 points and five steals. Scottie Barnes shot 13-for-10 from the field to score 32 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

In fact, getting 112 points is very close to both the Raptors' season average number (112.4) and their offensive rating of 114.8. What really cost the team Friday's game was their defense. They understandably chose to go behind the screen to test the Lakers' 3-point shooting ability. However, after Russell and Schroder made shots continuously behind the arc in the fourth quarter, the Raptors still didn't alter their way of defending screen plays.

OG Anunoby (#3) of the Toronto Raptors shoots in the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, March 10, 2023. /CFP
OG Anunoby (#3) of the Toronto Raptors shoots in the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, March 10, 2023. /CFP

OG Anunoby (#3) of the Toronto Raptors shoots in the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, March 10, 2023. /CFP

Furthermore, the Raptors were excessively distracted by Anthony Davis. They managed to contain his individual attack by denying the ball and double-teaming, but at the cost of leaving other Lakers open. Not only did Russell, Schroder and Reaves kept charging the Raptors' rim without meeting much challenge, they also dished the ball out to set up many open shots for teammates both at the 3-point line and in the middle range.

Though the Lakers remain ninth in the Western Conference after Friday's win, they are only half a game behind the eighth-ranking Minnesota Timberwolves and one game away from the sixth- and seventh-ranking Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors.

Other games on Friday (away teams come first):

Joel Embiid (#21) of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots in the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 10, 2023. /CFP
Joel Embiid (#21) of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots in the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 10, 2023. /CFP

Joel Embiid (#21) of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots in the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 10, 2023. /CFP

Portland Trail Blazers 119-120 Philadelphia 76ers

The 76ers were still down 119-118 after battling for over 47 minutes to come back at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Friday. Coach Doc Rivers called a timeout after James Harden and Joel Embiid dribbled for over 10 seconds but failed to find a chance to break into the Trail Blazers' paint. There were 7.2 seconds left.

Before Harden threw the ball in, Tyrese Maxey tried to set a screen for Embiid, but Jusuf Nurkic knocked him down without even looking. Embiid received the ball and faced Nurkic at the 3-point line. He penetrated to the right, took a spin to space out and then shot to make a jumper. It was the 13th FG he made this game and the 39 point he scored. Embiid put the 76ers on top for the first time on Friday night when there were 1.1 seconds left.

The Trail Blazers tried to find Damian Lillard for the game winner in the following possession, but it took him more effort and time than expected to have the ball in control thanks to the defense of De'Anthony Melton. Time was already up before Lillard got the shot away.

Jimmy Butler (#22) of the Miami heat shoots in the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami-Dade Arena in Miami, Florida, March 10, 2023. /CFP
Jimmy Butler (#22) of the Miami heat shoots in the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami-Dade Arena in Miami, Florida, March 10, 2023. /CFP

Jimmy Butler (#22) of the Miami heat shoots in the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami-Dade Arena in Miami, Florida, March 10, 2023. /CFP

Cleveland Cavaliers 115-119 Miami Heat

The Cavaliers failed to extend their winning streak to four games despite their 14-point lead (81-67) in the third quarter and the 42 points scored by Donovan Mitchell at Miami-Dade Arena in Miami, Florida, on Friday. Jimmy Butler went 4-for-4 both from the field and at the 3-point line to score 12 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Heat to rally a 37-26 run.

Butler had his 33 points in an interesting way in Friday's game. He reached double-digits in the first, third and fourth quarters, but had nothing at all in the second period. Only in that quarter were the Heat outscored by the Cavaliers.

Keldon Johnson (#3) of the San Antonio Spurs shoots in the game against the Denver Nuggets at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, March 10, 2023. /CFP
Keldon Johnson (#3) of the San Antonio Spurs shoots in the game against the Denver Nuggets at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, March 10, 2023. /CFP

Keldon Johnson (#3) of the San Antonio Spurs shoots in the game against the Denver Nuggets at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, March 10, 2023. /CFP

Denver Nuggets 120-128 San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs ended the Nuggets' 29-win record when Nikola Jokic dropped a triple-double for the team. Though he had 37 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, on Friday, his team still blew a 15-point lead (41-26) in the second quarter. They managed to cut their deficit to two points (118-116) in the fourth period, but the Spurs responded 10-0 run in the following one minute to kill the suspense.

The competition was spiced up in the third quarter when Michael Porter Jr. and Zach Collins clashed on the court. Porter Jr. first dunked over Collins and then the two exchanged some words. Collins chased Porter Jr. down before Porter Jr. grabbed him in the neck. They were soon separated, but both were ejected after the referees reviewed what happened.

Atlanta Hawks 114-107 Washington Wizards

Brooklyn Nets 124-123 Minnesota Timberwolves

Search Trends