Lakers at Raptors
The Toronto Raptors look to sweep a season series from the Los Angeles Lakers for the first time in franchise history when the teams meet Sunday afternoon in Toronto. The Raptors are 8-26 all-time versus the Lakers but claimed a 106-94 victory at Los Angeles on Dec. 8, and have won two of the last three meetings overall. The win in the first encounter last month was the start of Toronto's turnaround, as the squad entered the contest 6-12 but has gone 14-6 since.
Included in that run was a 94-89 win over Minnesota on Friday - the Raptors' sixth straight victory at home. The Lakers are coming off a dramatic 107-104 comeback win at Boston in an encounter that saw them erase a late eight-point deficit. Paul Gasol had perhaps his best overall stat line of the season with 24 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and zero turnovers in 36 minutes as Los Angeles ended a six-game losing streak.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, TWC SportsNet (Los Angeles), TSN (Toronto)
ABOUT THE LAKERS (15-25): While his team's season has continued to trend in the wrong direction, Gasol has done his best to keep the Lakers afloat. He is averaging 20.3 points, 11.8 rebounds and five assists this month and is 28-for-48 from the floor over his last three contests. Fellow big man Ryan Kelly filled in for the suspended Nick Young in Boston and produced a personal-best 20 points.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (20-18): Kyle Lowry scored 23 points and handed out eight assists in the meeting with Los Angeles in December, part of the veteran's career-best campaign that continued Friday versus Minnesota. Lowry nailed a season-high six 3-pointers en route to a team-high 24 points, improving to 20-for-35 from long distance over his last five games. He has also produced 23 assists against five turnovers in the last three contests, and still ranks first among Eastern Conference point guards with a 3.43 assist-to-turnover ratio.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Young is eligible to return after serving the suspension for throwing a punch in a game at Phoenix on Wednesday.
2. Toronto is nearing the end of a stretch in which it plays seven straight games against losing teams.
3. Lakers PG Kendall Marshall has posted four straight double-doubles, averaging 13.8 points and 13.3 assists in that span.