TORONTO – Austin Reaves scored 44 points and Rui Hachimura hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Toronto Raptors 123-120 on Thursday.
Reaves had 11 assists and five rebounds for the Lakers (16-5), who were without superstar point guard Luka Doncic.
Doncic, an early candidate for NBA MVP, didn’t travel to Toronto with the Lakers for personal reasons.
All-time great LeBron James was limited to eight points, but added 11 assists and six rebounds for L.A. Deandre Ayton had 17 points and eight rebounds.
Scottie Barnes had a double-double for the Raptors (15-8) with 23 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Brandon Ingram had 20 points despite going 0-for-6 from three-point range for Toronto, who had seven players reach double digits in scoring.
Ja’Kobe Walter had a season-high 17 points, starting for RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont., who is out with a sprained right knee.
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Jakob Poeltl, who is usually the Raptors’ starting centre, sat out the game to rest his lower back. He has missed one half of every back-to-back so far this season to avoid injuring himself.
Takeaways
Lakers: Reaves stepped up with Doncic unavailable, especially in the third quarter. He had 22 points in that period alone, outscoring all Raptors players for the entire game — except Barnes — in that 12-minute span.
Raptors: Toronto looked sloppy at times, with nine turnovers in the first half alone. The Raptors tightened up their play in the third quarter, however, erasing L.A.’s 13-point lead and winning the period 40-33 despite Reaves’s outburst.
Key moment
Hachimura drilled a 24-foot three-pointer as time expired to win the game. The shot had to be reviewed to make sure he got it off before the buzzer sounded.
Key stat
James saw his streak of 1,297 consecutive games of double-digit scoring snapped.
Up next
Toronto: Hosts the Charlotte Hornets (6-16) on Friday.
Los Angeles: Visits the Boston Celtics (early tipoff) on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 4, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press