This game became a mess early, and I’m not talking about the WWE match that OG Anunoby thought he was in. The Los Angeles Lakers win 110-101 (it really wasn’t that close) against the Toronto Raptors as they continue their east coast road trip with the Raptors currently playing in Tampa Bay, Florida.
The referees might have let a little bit of Florida foolishness get into them, as they were an absolute travesty for nearly all of this game. It was kicked off with the situation between OG Anunoby and Dennis Schröder, where Anunoby sort of picked Schröder up and threw him on the ground after Schröder fouled him on a fast break.
Dennis Schroder and OG Anunoby.
WHOA. 👀🗣 pic.twitter.com/RLdBESSpNs
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) April 7, 2021
OG Anunoby was properly ejected and Schröder received no punishment, but Montrezl Harrell was also ejected for escalating the situation. It was a little foolish, with the referees continuing to be poor the rest of the way pissing off nearly every single coach and player on both teams.
Enough about that though, let’s talk about that butt-whooping.
Player of the game – Everybody!
Yeah, that’s right. I’m going the Player of the Game award to everyone! It was an all-out team effort highlighted by seven players hitting double-digits. These are the exact efforts that are going to be needed by the Lakers as they continue playing without LeBron James and Anthony Davis. They do not have a player that can take over a game with his scoring, so they’ll need to continue having games where they hit the open three-pointers they receive. Speaking of which…
Stat of the game – 45% to 15.2%
That is the Lakers’ three-point percentage versus the Raptors’ three-point percentage. This is definitely something that the Lakers are not accustomed to, as they are usually the team losing the game because they aren’t winning the numbers game. You know, three is greater than two.
The main contributors to that percentage include Markieff Morris (3/8), Alex Caruso (3/4), and Talen Horton-Tucker (3/4).
What’s next?
The Lakers will continue their road trip in the east (four more games remaining) as they take a short trip from Tampa Bay to Miami to face off in another 2020 NBA Finals rematch. The Lakers lost their first matchup against the Heat, 96-94 as Alex Caruso missed that wide-open game-winning three on a messy fast break.
It’ll be another early game, tipping off at 4:30 p.m. PST.
