‘Very solid’ Ingram a bright spot in loss
TORONTO — If there’s a silver lining for the Lakers in their spate of injuries lately, it’s that it’s afforded rookie Brandon Ingram the opportunity for more experience.
For the last two games, Ingram has started in place of shooting guard Nick Young, who is out because of a strained right calf muscle. He’s already showing growth. “He’s got a great feel for the game; I thought he did a great job of being aggressive tonight,” Lakers Coach Luke Walton said after Friday’s loss to Toronto. “Mixing it up, getting to the rim, when he took his jump shots. He was very solid for us tonight.”
Ingram scored a career-high 17 points two days after making only one of nine shots from the field against the Chicago Bulls. What impressed Walton most about Ingram this week was that even when his shot wasn’t falling, he stayed engaged defensively and made a positive impact for the Lakers.
“I think it would be immature if I was out there and not knocking my shots down to let it affect me on the defensive end,” Ingram said. “I just try to go into the game, if something’s not working there’s something else that I can help the team with.”
Homecoming
Toronto fans cheered point guard Jose Calderon when the public-address announcer called his name with the Lakers’ starting lineup.
They have a long history together. Calderon has the most assists in Toronto Raptors history, with 3,770 during his seven-year career with the organization.
“It’s always gonna be different than any other place,” said Calderon, who began his career in Toronto. “I think it’s the place that I passed the second most time in my life. So it’s like home for me. A lot of fans, there’s a lot of great things happening here.”
Calderon had five points, five rebounds and two assists in 18 minutes on Friday night.
Etc.
Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr. bumped knees with a Raptors player Friday. After the game, the Lakers said Nance was questionable for Saturday’s game in Memphis, but they will reevaluate him Saturday morning. … Memphis native Tarik Black won’t get a chance to catch up with old friends during the Lakers’ brief trip there this weekend. He called the trip all business and said his family understands. “When I went to the NBA they felt like it was business,” Black said. “Even when I wasn’t at home my mom was big on not calling me before games and things like that. So they always understood.” … The Lakers were held to 15 points in the third quarter — missing all seven of their three-point attempts — and scored 32 points total in the second half. Both were season lows for Raptors opponents.