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Tim BontempsESPN
LOS ANGELES – When Toronto Raptors striker Serge Ibaka discovered that Kawhi Leonard would play Sunday night's game at the Staples Center against the Los Angeles Lakers, he was determined to make up for his absence.
"I was just focused," he says afterwards. "I just wanted to go out there and show myself very strong tonight."
Mission accomplished.
Kawhi Leonard has won a championship, is relatively healthy and comes from Southern California. Take it all with a grain of salt when it comes to his free agency.
The Raptors beat the Lakers 42-17 on Sunday night in the first quarter, setting the most unbalanced deficit of the first quarter deficit at 25 in the penalty shoot-out period (since 1954-1955).
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Ibaka scored 34 points and scored 15 goals – his two career highs – 10 rebounds, two assists and two interceptions, and allowed the Raptors to win their 121-107 victory over the Lakers in a much more unbalanced match. that the final score would indicate.
Ibaka, who finished 15 for 17 on the field, made his first 14 shots to start the game – the largest number of NBA players since Shaquille O. Neal for the Miami Heat on February 25, 2006, against Seattle SuperSonics. Ibaka got them by feasting several times on the porous Lakers inner defense.
In recent years, when Ibaka spent most of his time floating around the 3-point arc as a power striker, he would not have nearly had such a performance. However, Nick Nurse, Toronto's first-year head coach, transferred Ibaka to full-time play this season, which immediately paid off.
After Sunday's explosion, Ibaka has a record average of 18.1 points per game on average, while his shot percentage of 56.8% and his 7.6 rebounds per game are the highest totals ever. He's been posting for years.
"If the teams play little like that and change roles, then we can send him back inside and he can either hurt him with the loot behind, or hurt him by the glass," said the nurse. . "He did a bit of both, but again, I thought he managed to catch, to be strong, to be fundamental, to make good solid moves and to be patient.
"Some guys were jumping over him, and he was putting it in."
Ibaka set the tone for Toronto's defeat with a breathtaking first quarter, scoring 20 of Toronto's 42 points in the first 12 minutes, marking the Lakers alone at the same time. He missed a shot until an unsuccessful turnaround in the middle of the third quarter.
At that time, the Raptors were up 22 years and the result was already decided.
"For me, the most important is the team," said Ibaka. "We have a W and I'm happier than scoring a lot of points [in a loss]. It is true that I played very well, but we have a W. For me it is the most important. "
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