Raptors win nailbiter against Lakers
Written by on January 24th, 2010 in Latest News.
Pau Gasol (16) of the Los Angeles Lakers drives hard to the net, splitting defenders Andrea Bargnani (7) and Hedo Tukoglu (26) of the Toronto Raptors on Sunday in Toronto. (Ron Turenne/NBAE/Getty Images)
It’s what he was brought to Toronto to do.
With 1.2 seconds left in the game, Hedo Turkoglu nailed two clutch free throws to give the Raptors a 106-105 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kobe Bryant missed the last-gasp attempt for his Lakers, and finished one help shy of a triple double (27 points, 16 rebounds, nine assists).
Andrea Bargnani led the Raptors with 22 points and eight rebounds and gave his team their first lead of the game with 7:33 to go in the fourth quarter.
Beating the best team in the Western Conference did not come simple for Toronto. Forced to play catch-up for most of the first half, the Raptors never held a lead but managed to tie the game at 50 with 1:08 left in the second off a nice drive by Bargnani.
Los Angeles, on the strength of three consecutive jumpers in the late stages of the second quarter from Bryant, took a 56-54 lead into the second half.
Bryant had 14 first-half points, joining Pau Gasol (14), and Andrew Bynum (17) in double digits.
Chris Bosh paced the Raptors through the early stages of the game with 12 points while Jarrett Jack dropped in nine. Both players finished with 18 while Bosh pulled down 13 boards.
The Lakers jumped on the perpetually third-quarter sleepy Raptors to start the second half, opening a nine-point lead thanks to a 7-0 run.
Another slow 3rd quarter start
Toronto coach Jay Triano called a timeout to regroup his squad, and it appeared to work as Turkoglu hit his first three-pointer of the game to place his team on the board.
Turkoglu finished 1-for-2 from beyond the arc with nine points, none larger than the final two of the game.
The Lakers pushed their lead to a game-high 10 through the midway point of the third but only took an 82-80 lead heading into the final quarter thanks to a late push from Marco Bellinelli.
The shooting guard had 15 points off the bench for the Raptors.
With less than two minutes to go in the third the Raptors lost Jose Calderon after colliding head-on with Derrick Fisher. The collision opened up a cut over the right eye of the Spanish guard and he had to go to the locker room. He returned to the bench in the fourth quarter.
With 8:24 to go in the game, Bargnani once again lifted his squad into a tie with a small jumper to make it 88-88 and soon after spotted Toronto to its first lead with a three-pointer to take a 93-90.
To keep the see-saw game going, L.A.’s Jordan Farmar answered with a three-ball of his own to knot the game back up with seven minutes to play.
With 15.3 seconds left, three seconds left on the shot clock and a slim one-point lead for the Lakers, Bryant missed a shot from beyond the arc and the Raptors gathered the rebound before calling a timeout of their own.
With 11.4 to go, Turkoglu took control, driving through the middle of the key before being fouled by Gasol with 1.2 seconds left.
With the two foul shots drained, it signalled the final of five lead changes in the final seven minutes of play.
