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Lakers stay perfect, hold off Raptors

Nov 6, 2010 - 5:49 AM Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Pau Gasol scored 30 points and grabbed seven rebounds and Kobe Bryant added 23 points and six assists as the Los Angeles Lakers held off Toronto, 108-103, at Staples Center.

Steve Blake supplied 14 points and Shannon Brown chipped in with 12 off the bench for the hosts, who are off to a 6-0 start for the second time in three seasons.

"It's good to play close games like this," said Blake after nailing four of his six three-point shots. "I got some good looks and it was just a matter of catch-and-shoot."

Leandro Barbosa scored 17 points off the bench and Amir Johnson contributed 12 points and a career-best 15 rebounds in reserve for the Raptors, who have lost three in a row after their only victory last Friday against Cleveland.

Toronto pulled to within 97-94 with 4:20 to play before a Gasol putback and a Derek Fisher layup made it 101-94 with 2:43 remaining.

Johnson and Gasol traded a pair of free throws before a Fisher steal led to Bryant getting to the line and making 1-of-2 to make it 104-96 with 69 ticks remaining.

Jose Calderon's driving layup and 1-of-2 at the line by both DeMar DeRozan and Bargnani trimmed the deficit to four with 30.1 seconds to go.

Bryant was fouled 3 1/2 seconds later and knocked down two at the line to extend the lead back to six. Bargnani and Jarrett Jack missed jumpers, and Linas Kleiza had a shot blocked by Bryant in a 14-second span before Gasol sealed the win with two more foul shots with 3.8 seconds left.

"We were right there but we just couldn't execute," a dejected DeRozan said "This was a challenge playing against Kobe and the Lakers and I had fun doing so tonight."

The Lakers shot 14-of-22 to start and raced out to a 33-20 lead after the first quarter before the Raptors knocked down a blistering 15-of-26 from the floor in the second quarter en route to 38 points and a 58-55 lead at the break.

Barbosa connected on 5-of-8, including all three attempts from beyond the arc, in a 15-point second quarter for the visitors. He scored seven points in an 11-5 spurt that turned a three-point deficit into a three-point lead after 24 minutes.

The lead swayed back and forth throughout the third quarter with neither team leading by more than three after the first minute until a Gasol foul shot gave the hosts an 82-78 heading into the final quarter.

Game Notes

The Lakers lead the all-time series, 23-6, and have won 10 of the 12 games at Staples Center...Los Angeles also won its first six games during the 1987-88, 1997-98, 2001-02 and 2008-09 seasons...Gasol hit 12-of-22 from the floor and all six of his foul shots...Bryant was 11-of-12 from the line as the Lakers made 27-of-32 from the charity stripe...Calderon scored 14 points, on 7-of-9 shooting, and added eight assists...DeRozan scored 15 points, while Reggie Evans pulled down 14 rebounds in defeat...Toronto outrebounded the Lakers, 49-31.