Kobe Bryant given warm send-off by Toronto fans

Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey wasn't happy with his team's defensive effort on Monday night — even if it did result in a victory.

L.A. erased a 10-point halftime deficit and entered the fourth quarter tied at 71 in the Raptors' eventual 102-93 win. Led by Kobe Bryant, the Lakers went on a 15-4 run to open the second half and capped the third quarter off with five unanswered points.

"It's a dangerous habit. Dangerous habits we have," said Casey. "One was rebounding, we got out-rebounded by nine. Defensively, collectively, we've all got to get better. That's where the slippage came [and] how they got back in the game."

Kyle Lowry poured in a game-high 27 points as the Raptors swept a season series versus the Lakers for the first time in franchise history. Toronto won the only other meeting of the season between the two teams, 102-91 on Nov. 20.

Terrence Ross, starting in place of the injured DeMarre Carroll, added a season-high 22 points for the Raptors (13-9), who snapped a two-game losing skid.

"I always had my confidence, the amount of minutes I played was a little longer so I didn't feel like I was rushing things," said Ross, who made his first start of the season. "I felt a lot more comfortable. More relaxed."

Bismack Biyombo added 15 points and 13 rebounds.

The Raptors used a 9-0 fourth-quarter run, highlighted by a Biyombo alley-oop dunk, to pull away.

Bryant had 21 points and eight rebounds for the Lakers (3-18), who have lost three straight games and eight of their last 11.

Turnovers biggest difference

"I thought the biggest difference for us in the game was just our turnovers," said Lakers coach Byron Scott. "It seemed like every time we turned it over, they got a layup.

"Twenty-three points off our turnovers compared to six off theirs, it's a big difference."

Monday was Bryant's final regular-season game in Toronto. The 37-year-old is retiring at the end of the season.

Bryant received cheers from the 20,163 in attendance at Air Canada Centre throughout the night, including multiple standing ovations.

Casey would've preferred the pro-Bryant crowd to send some cheers Toronto's way.

"We have great fans," he said. "Around the league he's kind of getting that coverage, but again this is home. We've only had a few home games and we want to make it feel like home.

"I respect Kobe and all that, but our guys, we need those cheers too."

Lowry took over in the second quarter going 4-for-5 from beyond the arc as Toronto went into the locker-room up 52-42. The Raptors guard had a game-high 19 points at halftime.

After falling behind 15-9 early, the Raptors outscored the Lakers 14-3 to take a 23-18 lead. Toronto led 25-22 after the first 12 minutes.

Ross, who picked off a Bryant pass and finished with a one-handed jam as part of a 5-0 Toronto run, led the way in the first quarter with 13 points and two rebounds. He had eight points in the first eight minutes of the game.

"Offensively, I thought he got a rhythm going, and for a scorer like him, having extended minutes really helped him," Casey said. "Hopefully that gets him jump-started on the offensive end."