Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic praised his team’s fight after a late comeback attempt fell short in a 131-125 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, November 1.
Toronto trailed by 26 points late in the third quarter but cut the margin to five in the fourth. The Raptors’ reserves scored 11 points in 40 seconds after the Lakers removed their starters, forcing Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler back into the game.
“We are not a team that quits. We never quit. We play full 48 minutes,” Rajakovic said after the game.
The coach explained that he wanted to give his reserves the opportunity to finish after they helped bring Toronto back into contention. He had initially started the fourth quarter with his first unit, aiming to reduce the deficit to 15 points, before turning to fresh players.
“They deserved to be on the court there when the game was deciding,” Rajakovic said.
The Raptors committed 15 turnovers, including several in the opening quarter. Rajakovic attributed the slow start to poor decisions rather than the Lakers’ defensive pressure, but pointed to the improvement after halftime.
“We had only three turnovers in the second half,” he said.
Rajakovic also discussed using three guards together without a traditional center, explaining that Toronto was trying to find effective combinations with limited personnel. He praised Alijah Martin’s on-ball defense and aggressiveness in the first half.
“We’re short on bodies, so we really try to scramble and find somebody who’s going to give us a juice,” the coach said.
Jamison Battle scored 20 points in 17 minutes, making four of his 10 three-point attempts. Rajakovic said the forward’s late-game confidence and shooting needed to become part of his performance from the opening tip.
“He needs to find that level every night,” Rajakovic said.
The coach also praised Doncic, who finished with 45 points, 15 rebounds, six assists and five steals. Rajakovic highlighted the Lakers star’s physical condition, shot-making and decision-making, noting that many of his three-pointers came off the dribble.
“He’s just unstoppable,” Rajakovic said.
Rajakovic added that Toronto had tried to make Doncic work for his points by defending him physically and sending two players at him. The Slovenian still went 8-for-12 from three-point range.
The Raptors continue their four-game road trip against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night.
