The Toronto Raptors defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, 111-98, on Thursday at Air Canada Centre.

The Raptors (49-20) came into Thursday's contest without two key players, with Kyle Lowry (ankle) and Serge Ibaka (suspension) both sidelined, but that didn't have much of an impact when it came to beating up on the lowly Lakers. Mostly because they still had star player Kawhi Leonard, who scored a team-high 25 points to go along with eight rebounds, four assists and two steals in the wire-to-wire victory. Pascal Siakam struggled mightily from the floor, going just 3-of-16, but he still managed to finish with 16 points thanks to his ability to get to the free throw line. Lastly, Normal Powell came up with a huge performance off the bench, scoring 20 points and grabbing eight rebounds in 24 key minutes as a reserve. It wasn't the most efficient offensive performance for the Raptors, however, as they shot 39.6 percent from the field, but the 16 threes they hit helped overcome that and propel them to victory.

As for the Lakers (31-37), they have now lost six of their last seven games, and injuries have left them with a real lack of quality depth. Los Angeles only had three guys who played double-digit minutes off the bench, and only one, Alex Caruso, scored in double figures with an impressive 16-point outing. LeBron James, of course, scored a game-high 29 points to go along with four rebounds and six assists across 32 minutes, while Rajon Rondo's 13 points made him the third and final Laker player to score in double figures. As a team, what killed Los Angeles was its inability to hit a shot from behind the arc, as the team shot a miserable 7-of-31 (22.6 percent) from three Thursday night.