Marquee names in James and Anthony Davis steal Toronto’s spotlight

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There was an air of royalty Friday night at Scotiabank Arena, a palpable buzz only basketball’s elite can generate.

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With the Raptors in the early stages of their 30th anniversary season — replete with all of the accompanying pomp and ceremony — any visit by LeBron James is memorable.

The King could have been a Raptor, riding shotgun with Vince Carter, back in the day had Lady Luck shined on the club at the draft lottery. But he was selected first overall by his home state Cleveland Cavaliers and the rest, as they say, is history.

James will be remembered as one the greatest in basketball history. When he was introduced Friday night, he received a thunderous applause. When he buried a corner three-ball 17 seconds into the game, fans were equally enthusiastic in their admiration.

Anthony Davis — who produced a game-high 38 points — also received strong support among the local faithful, but it wasn’t as pronounced as how it feted the King, which is to be expected on a night the Lakers led from start to finish in holding off the Raptors, 131-125.

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Incredibly, James turns 40 years old this Dec. 30 and, if so inclined and motivated, could easily play another three or four years.

Like Michael Jordan in his advanced years, James sees a play before it is executed, reads it like no other and has a feel like no other.

Four minutes into the second quarter Friday and a potential breakaway dunk by James went awry when he could not run down a ball that went out of bounds.

Otherwise, it was all LeBron all the time with the Raptors summarily placed on the backburner. He scored 27 points, hit five of his eight three-ball attempts and dealt out 10 assists.

Saturday night will be Carter’s jersey retirement ceremony, to be held during halftime of Sacramento’s visit when DeMar DeRozan makes his first trip as a member of the Kings.

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As for the King, no one will forget the days when the term LeBronto was born, a time when DeRozan and Kyle Lowry were leading the Raptors deep into the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The current iteration of the Raptors won’t be making any playoff push. As a result, occasions such as Friday and Saturday must be embraced.

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Lakers rookie head coach JJ Redick, no stranger to the history of Raptors basketball given his connection to the 2019 Philadelphia 76ers, and was Carter’s teammate in Orlando.

“Happy for him and everything that has come his way,’’ said Redick. “I think anybody who came of age in the late ’90s early 2000s look back on that version of Vince with a high level of fondness.

“Just an all around great dude and very deserving.”

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And to think James could have been Carter’s teammate in Toronto.

At least James was able to win a title, his career-fourth, with Davis as his teammate.

The two were unstoppable in the opening quarter in outscoring the Raptors by themselves 23-19, a first period that would see the Lakers score 43 points.

L.A. scored the game’s first seven points, prompting the Raptors to call a timeout 73 seconds into the night.

Realistically speaking, the undermanned Raptors had no chance and it became obvious right from the jump. If healthy, they would have had a puncher’s chance.

One highlight featured Toronto’s 2024 first-round pick Ja’Kobe Walter making his NBA debut.

The lowlight involved the 76 first-half points surrendered by the Raptors, who did manage a respectable 51 themselves.

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Down by 26 at one point, the three-man show of RJ Barrett, Gradey Dick and Jakob Poeltl did make it a six-point game in the second half.

As a side, people like to talk about James’ influence and how his latest act involved his son, Bronny, being taken in the second round by the Lakers. Fans started chanting Bronny’s name late in the game and they got their wish when the kid  entered with 7.6 seconds remaining.

Once again, the resilient Raptors refused to go away once the nerves were erased. A three-point play by Barrett made it a 104-98 game four minutes into the fourth quarter.

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One of the loudest cheers for someone not named James arrived when Poeltl blocked Davis at the rim.

What ensued was a flurry of threes as the Lakers extended their advantage to 15 points.
It’s never good when the Raptors are exchanging baskets, but they couldn’t make stops.

Barrett poured in 33 points — reaching the 30-point mark for the second game in a row — but he was also a facilitator on this night in recording a career-high 12 assists.

Dick also recorded his second straight 30-point game in the loss, scoring 31 on 13-for-26 shooting, 5-of-11 from three-point range.

The Barrett/Dick/Poeltl trio accounted for 83 points, 21 assists and 24 rebounds.

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