True to the “LeBronto” nickname, the Raptors fell short against LeBron James again, as the Lakers put together a dazzling second half to claw back from a ten-point deficit and overcome Davis’ third-quarter exit.

Davis blocked a dunk attempt from Jakob Poeltl as the Lakers had started to make a run, and Poeltl inadvertently poked AD in the left eye, causing him to go down in pain. Later on, he walked back to the locker room, and the team ruled him out for the rest of the game.

Filling in for him was Jaxson Hayes, who had a solid game with 12 points, including a few highlight plays where he finished some nifty passes from the King.

Bron also overcame a slow start to the first half, ultimately finishing with 19 points, 16 assists, and ten rebounds.

After Davis went down, James recognized that the team was in danger of letting their momentum slip away, and decided to take over with his playmaking.

Against the Sixers, LeBron James had another triple-double, with 21 points, 12 rebounds, and 13 assists.

Meanwhile, Austin Reaves also scored 27 points, thriving in his new role as starting point guard after coach JJ Redick benched D’Angelo Russell and inserted Cam Reddish as the starting two-guard.

New moves

With the move, Redick may have solved, at least for the time being, two of the Lakers’ nagging issues: defense at the guard position and nonexistent bench production.

Slotting Reddish in the starting lineup gives athleticism and size on defense, and a willing cutter and finisher on offense.

On the other hand, D’Lo should give the bench a shot in the arm offensively, with his shooting and playmaking.

So far, the Lakers are 2-0 with Reddish as a starter, and they’ll try to make it 3-0 against the Memphis Grizzles, without Ja Morant, on Wednesday.