Tuesday, March 11


Toronto (34-28) at LA Lakers (44-19), 7:30 pm

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) - The Los Angeles Lakers were probably just as shocked as anyone with their last loss. They may get a bit of a reprieve against the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday. The Lakers look to rebound from a surprising home loss when they host the Raptors, who will likely be without All-Star forward Chris Bosh for a fifth straight game.

Los Angeles saw its three-game winning streak come to an end on Sunday in a 114-113 loss to the Sacramento Kings. Kobe Bryant paced the Lakers with 26 points, but the NBA's second-leading scorer was held to just one point in the fourth quarter and missed a long jumper as time expired that would have given Los Angeles the victory. The Lakers' ability to notch their 45th win may be much easier if Bosh's sore right knee does not allow him to play.

The Raptors are 2-3 without their star - the wins coming against the lowly Miami Heat on Wednesday and Sunday's 114-106 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics. Anthony Parker, who has averaged 18.6 points over the last five games, led the Raptors with 23 points in the triumph over the Sonics.