Kobe's 20th-career triple-double leads Lakers over Raptors in OT
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http://www.tsn.ca/kobe-s-20th-career-triple-double-leads-lakers-over-raptors-in-ot-1.148589
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LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Kobe Bryant wanted this one badly, especially after missing a clutch free throw in the final minute of regulation. And by the time the Los Angeles Lakers had beaten the Toronto Raptors, the 19-year veteran had his 20th career triple-double.
Bryant had 31 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists and the Lakers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 129-122 overtime victory on Sunday night.
Seven players scored in double figures for the Lakers (4-13), including all five starters. Nick Young added 20 off the bench, Boozer scored 18 and Jordan Hill had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
"I was just trying to make the right plays," said Bryant, who was three assists off his career high. "The difference is that when the guys make the shots, it makes my job easier because I don't have to force the offence. When they miss them and we go down 12-15 points, I've got to force the issue a little bit to keep us in the ballgame."
Bryant grabbed a missed tip-in attempt by Patrick Patterson with 1:22 left, securing his first triple-double since April 2, 2013 against Dallas.
"Kobe was amazing tonight, man — dropping dimes to everybody, rebounding, shooting it and being a great playmaker," Boozer said. "When he plays like that, we all get involved. He's amazing every night, but tonight was something special."
Bryant, who came in with a league-best 26.4 scoring average, finished the first half with eight assists — one more than his season.
"Kobe was playmaking with two people on him and gave us a chance to (score) early," Boozer said. "We were aggressive with the ball, and we just kept going like that throughout the night."
Kyle Lowry had 29 points, nine assists and six rebounds for Toronto before fouling out with 2.8 seconds left in overtime. Terrence Ross had 20 points and Lou Williams added 19 off the bench for the Raptors, whose 13-3 record coming in represented the best start in franchise history.
Toronto played without leading scorer DeMar DeRozan, who tore a tendon in his left groin during Friday's 106-102 loss to Dallas and is out indefinitely. Greivis Vasquez made his first start of the season at shooting guard and scored 19 points.
"It's tough when you lose your All-Star guard, but injuries are a big part of the NBA. So you've got to deal with it and adapt," coach Dwane Casey said. "We can't sit around and feel sorry for ourselves. We've got to maintain a work-ethic mentality and find a way to fill that big void."
The Raptors never led in OT. Wesley Johnson put the Lakers ahead for good at 113-110 with a 3-pointer. Bryant followed with a three-point play and then hit a 15-foot jumper. Jeremy Lin added a fastbreak layup for a 120-112 cushion with 1:36 to play.
Toronto led by six with 9:25 left in the fourth quarter after Williams scored eight points in a 1:07 span. But the Lakers pulled ahead 102-101 when Bryant shook off Ross and hit a 17-footer with 3 minutes to go.
Ross hit a 3-pointer to put the Raptors up 109-108, and Bryant made one of two free throws at the other end. Lowry was called for an offensive foul, and Bryant missed a layup in heavy traffic as the fourth quarter expired.
TIP-INS
Raptors: DeRozan, the only player on the team to appear in all 82 games during the 2010-11 and 2012-13 seasons, missed just 10 games over five-plus seasons before his latest injury. ... Toronto was 1 for 11 from 3-point range in the first half and 9 for 34 overall.
Lakers: Bryant made some more history against the Raptors. When he set up Johnson's 12-footer with 8:31 left in the third to become the first player in NBA history with at least 6,000 assists and 30,000 points.
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3 hours ago
Christopher Chin
I didn't like putting Vasquez in the starting lineup. I would rather have James Johnson in there. You can put Landry in Johnsons spot on the second unit. We need Vasquez to run the second unit. With teams double teaming DeRozan, other player had more room. Since he is out now, players are going to have less room now.
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8 hours ago
Arthur Brown
Expect more of this unless JV gets tougher in the post and learns to make the easy put backs. Also, Ross is floating for too much of the game. Lowry can't take the whole team on his shoulders every night.
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6 hours ago
Matt Glazier
Agreed. Tyler H, T Ross, and JV are the Raps weak links in my opinion. Tyler just doesn't have the skill. The guy has a hard time to catch a pass. T Ross bites on every pump fake and seems to just go through the motions in the offense. JV needs to get tougher on both ends of the floor. Hopefully these problems are addressed before the playoffs.
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8 hours ago
Swirvelous
Raptors & their fans got a nice reminder of how biased NBA officials are. Lakers got a lot of phantom calls in their favor, especially for Bryant, & failing to give TO the timeout at the end of regulation when Lowry & others were screaming 'Time Out' & there was clearly over a second left. It was absurd that wasn't granted. That said, we were also reminded of the two biggest flaws of this team. 1)Their inability to play defense for four quarters. They play defense in the 1st half the way they played in the 3rd quarter & they win. But, as we've seen many times, they come out with no focus & no energy defensively. And 2) The interior game is fairly mediocre. Amir is what he is, a hustle guy that will play hard & occasionally have a great game. Otherwise, he's ideally suited to come off the bench. And as much as I like Valanciunas, his offensive game has a ways to go. A number of 3 footers missed again because he doesn't take it to the rim with authority. He continues to bring the ball down where the opponent can & does strip him of the ball & he's slow to make decisions. If Ujiri has designs on being a legit contender this &/or next season, the front court is the area he needs to improve.
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8 hours ago
Paul Panturescu
Really, Raptors?
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9 hours ago
Raptor4ever
Everyone has to remember...with or without DeRozen, this team is going to lose games. Casey will continue to keep everyone grounded and working hard. Raptor fans just need to relax and enjoy the ride. They WILL make the playoffs. They WILL win the division. Everything else only matters after they begin the second season. If only our Leafs could give us those guarantees...
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9 hours ago
rob mcgregor
Not a bad loss at all. The Lakers are thin and have a poor record but they still have Kobe and are playing on home court. This kind of game is so positive for the development of Ross in particular to toe up against someone like Kobe in the final minutes of a game. He did very well actually and although they lost I'm sure he's a better player now for it.
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10 hours ago
Boston Burin
This tells me a lot about this year's Toronto Raptors.....
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10 hours ago
Arthur Brown
This loss had nothing to do with the refs and everything to do with the Raptors very weak defence. Whether it is defending the perimeter or the post, the Raptors made things really easy for the Lakers and offered next to no resistance. The good start will crumble into disaster unless they learn how to defend. Casey isn't getting through to them on defence.
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9 hours ago
ArmchairEverything
I wouldnt be that dramatic.. the Raps have been one of the best defensive teams in the league so far, especially down the stretch when it matters. First game playing without DeRozan and they looked a little scrambly against a team that is hitting its stride. Sky isnt falling down.
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8 hours ago
Arthur Brown
The Raptors have not been one of the best defensive teams in the league so far, check your information. They are middle of the pack and falling.
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9 hours ago
J Gigs
I would say it was a combination of both subpar defence and the whistle certainly wasn't going the Raps way.
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10 hours ago
kun huo
DD's injury may be a blessing in disguise for the Raps. Before the injury they were flying high and the expectations were starting to soar. So the team was not ready but the pressure was on. Now their best player is out, the expectations are lowered and they can go back to the underdog status which they thrived in last year. A few losses will get the NBA analysts and prediction people focus on (try to ruin) other teams. Until JV and Ross develop significantly, I'd say the Raps are not championship material yet, so it's better to fly under the radar.
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8 hours ago
Paul Panturescu
I wouldn't say losing your best player is ever a blessing.
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11 hours ago
Stephen Lim
This game should have been an easy win. But the Raptors had to resort to shooting 3's practically every time they came down the floor when they were behind or tied. At one point they went 1 for 13. If they had cut into the paint (where they were successful 2 or 3 times and had drawn a foul that's potentially 6 points, which would have given them the win.
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13 hours ago
Leafaholic
Raps lack toughness and real big men, this west trip could very well be an 0-3 effort. Reality has come knocking.
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15 hours ago
Raptor4ever
It was nice to see Ross elevate his game. Late clutch 3.
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19 hours ago
greg blanchard
Raps starting to run into some teams with grit and less dazzle. No need to start getting crazy hut this team has lots of holes and they need to fill them. Their big man is not tough enough, facts are facts, they need to improve there to have any shot in the post seasob
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18 hours ago
Johnny Lo
raps should stash bruno into the d-league and sign okafor.. he's still on the market.. or stash bebe.. or let steisma go and bring on okafor..
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19 hours ago
Fightin' Irish
Those refs had Kobe jerseys underneath their stripes. Pathetic calls led to Laker momentum time and time again.
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Subject: Kobe FUCKING Bryant ---- triple-double in win 
