The Toronto Raptors have been without their star small forward Kawhi Leonard the last two games on the road with a foot injury, but the Raptors supporting cast came up huge and did not miss a beat. On Sunday, the Raptors beat the Los Angeles Lakers 121-107 and on Monday, the Raptors beat the Utah Jazz 124-111. In each of Toronto’s wins, they were once up by 20 points and the victories were never in doubt.
In Toronto’s 14 point win over the Lakers, Serge Ibaka had a career high 34 points. He was one of three Raptors to have a double double as he also had 10 rebounds. Kyle Lowry also had 21 points and 15 assists and Pascal Siakam had 16 points and 13 rebounds. Three other Raptors reached double digits in scoring as Danny Green had 15 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and Delon Wright had 11 points.
The balance in scoring should excite Raptors fans. Even though the Lakers had five players who reached double digits in scoring, the Lakers played catch up all night as they trailed the Raptors 42-17 after the first quarter. The Raptors also limited LeBron James to only two rebounds.
On Monday, it was clear the Jazz missed their sophomore star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, who is out with an ankle injury. In a game that missed the stars on both teams, it became clear that the rest of the Toronto Raptors are better than the rest of the Jazz, even in the high altitude of Salt Lake City. In Toronto’s win over Utah, four Raptors led the team in scoring as Ibaka, Fred Van Vleet, Lowry and OG Anunoby all had 17 points. Siakam had 16 points and Valanciunas had 11 points. Lowry also had a double double as he had 11 assists.
The Raptors are tied for first place in the entire NBA with the Golden State Warriors. Both teams have a record of 10 wins and one loss.
