Barnes, Raptors all over Lakers early in 114-103 win

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Scottie Barnes scored 15 of his 21 points in the first quarter and the Toronto Raptors held off a late rally by the Los Angeles Lakers for a 114-103 victory Monday night.

The Raptors led by 24 in the first as the Lakers were soundly defeated for the second consecutive night.

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"It was a great, great start," Toronto coach Nick Nurse said. "And then it was kind of weird from there, but it was good to get off to a good start like that."

Gary Trent Jr. had 28 points and Pascal Siakam scored 27 for Toronto, which has won four straight — all on the road. Fred VanVleet returned after being held out Saturday at Denver to rest his right knee and finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

LeBron James had 30 points and nine rebounds for Los Angeles, which has lost four of five — including 140-111 at Phoenix on Sunday. James was a game-time decision because of soreness in his left knee but ended up playing 40 minutes.

The Raptors piled on early against the floundering Lakers, scoring the first nine points on the way to a 33-12 lead after one. Los Angeles was 3 for 25 from the field and missed all 13 of its 3-pointers in the opening quarter. Avery Bradley had four points and was the only Lakers player with more than two in the period.

Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James, center, left, goes up for a basket under pressure by Toronto Raptors' Fred VanVleet (23) during first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 14, 2022, in Los Angeles.  (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

"Especially kind of early on, you get an open shot that everyone pretty much expects you to make it and you don’t make it, it’s