BREAKING NEWS: The Raptors’ 14th consecutive loss was partially caused by LeBron James. In the past, he was a villain in Toronto. Not anymore

He received a standing ovation when he entered the court for a pre-game warm-up.

As he warmed up, he dunked during the layup line, and the audience went wild.

To even louder applause, he lob passed Anthony Davis for the game’s opening basket. And nearly every flawless pass he made for a Lakers basket was met with “ah’s”.

He is cognizant of the respect.

Every time I come here to perform, there’s always been love and respect for one another, James remarked. “They haven’t given me anything to be happy about in my career, not even throughout the struggles in the postseason or other situations.

“I just try to always give it back to them when I step out on the floor because these fans are always appreciative of me.”

The Lakers defeated the Raptors 128-111, and he finished with 23 points and nine assists. Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic also received praise.

After the Lakers defeated the Raptors for the 14th time in a row, Rajakovic stated, “We really have to embrace this moment and be grateful (to) live in the era of LeBron James and the way he’s playing out there.” “I have a lot of respect for everything he does, but I definitely don’t like it when he plays against me.”

An anchor point? About three weeks before Gradey Dick, a rookie with the Raptors, was born, on October 29, 2003, James made his NBA regular-season debut for the Cavaliers.

After all these years, James is still going strong. In an attempt to get a dubious roster through at least the play-in round of the NBA postseason, he has appeared in 66 of the 76 games this season.

Every night, everyone gives it their all. He’s simply so outstanding, and we are fighting as hard as we can,” Rajakovic remarked. “It’s incredible to watch a player play at this level at this age, having spent 20 years in the NBA.” We had never seen anything like it, really.

The Raptors are attempting to avoid setting a franchise record for incompetence while James and the Lakers chase the play-in. Their current 14-game losing streak is now their second-longest, and they still have challenging games in Milwaukee on Friday and Minnesota on Wednesday. When they play the Washington Wizards at home on Sunday, they might tie the team record of 17 straight losses.

The Raptors’ biggest victory of the evening was the reappearance of RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, who had missed nine and six games, respectively, due to bereavement leaves and conditioning assignments.

They gave the struggling Raptors roster—some guys pressed into jobs they aren’t ready for—a modicum of real NBA skill.

Barrett finished with six assists, six rebounds, and 28 points. Quickley finished with six assists and 20 points.

When the Raptors were playing, they not only supported one another but also made the club appear like a legitimate NBA squad.

Before being traded to Toronto in December, Barrett, who had played with Quickley on the New York Knicks, remarked, “It meant a lot, y’know.” “We kept checking in on each other throughout the entire procedure.

Quickley is someone I’ve known for a very long time. Since we had been dating for almost four years, it was undoubtedly difficult to go through that. However, having a confidante like that is undoubtedly helpful.