Davis and LeBron James help Lakers beat Raptors
Anthony Davis and LeBron James starred as the Los Angeles Lakers rallied to claim a 123-103 victory over the visiting Toronto Raptors.
Davis scored 22 points in 26 minutes before leaving the game with an eye injury in the third quarter as he tried to block a shot by the Raptors’ Jakob Poeltl.
The 31-year-old sustained a number of eye injuries last season, suffering a corneal abrasion in March against the Golden State Warriors before being hit again in the left eye in April against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
James added 19 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds for his second consecutive triple-double, with the 39-year-old becoming the oldest player in NBA history to achieve the feat. It was his third triple-double of the season and the 115th of his career.
The Raptors led 34-26 at the end of the first quarter and were 10 points ahead (48-38) in the second quarter before the Lakers hit back to cut the gap to 55-53 at the interval.
The visitors led 77-72 with three minutes and 59 seconds left in the third quarter before the Lakers went on a 16-5 run and from then on they controlled the game.
Elsewhere, Stephen Curry hit seven of his 13 three-point efforts, finishing with 36 points as the Golden State Warriors beat Oklahoma City 127-116.
But Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 43 points were in vain as the Milwaukee Bucks lost 113-107 to the Boston Celtics.
Jayson Tatum had 31 points and 12 rebounds for the reigning NBA champions, who have won nine of their opening 11 games but are still two games behind the unbeaten Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference.
Payton Pritchard scored 18 points off the bench for Boston with Derrick White and former Buck Jrue Holiday adding 15 points each and Jaylen Brown hitting 14.
Greek star Antetokounmpo also claimed 13 rebounds and elbowed Brown to the floor at one point, offering a hand to help him up only to pull it away when Brown reached for it.
“Giannis is a child,” said Brown. “I’m just focused on helping my team get a win.”