After losing two straight games earlier this week, the Los Angeles Lakers He needed a victory to get back on track. They won a victory over the Toronto Raptorsbut it wasn’t easy.

They looked very impressive early on, just like they did on Monday against the Phoenix Suns. They were on top form in the first quarter, as they finished the period with a 43-19 lead and had a 26-point lead in the second quarter.

But the Raptors made things a little interesting afterward. They outscored Los Angeles 37-23 in the third quarter and continued to fight down the stretch, getting within six points with less than nine minutes remaining. LA built its lead to 121-108 with 2:52 left, only to see it shrink again to six points with 13.0 seconds left.

Fortunately, Toronto ran out of steam and simply didn’t have the firepower to prevent the Lakers from escaping with a 131-125 victory and improving their record to 4-2. It was their first road victory of the new season.

Anthony Davis: One

After a lackluster 22-point effort in Wednesday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Davis returned to his usual dominance on Friday. He started early with nine points in the first quarter, and he finished with 38 points on 14 of 20 shooting from the field and 10 of 11 from the free throw line. He also grabbed 12 rebounds and added three steals, two blocked shots and two assists for a dominant overall performance.

An impressive aspect of his performance Friday was the effort he made to release and run the court in transition, leading to several easy baskets on the fast break. He continues to be arguably the best rim running big man in the NBA.

Davis now has the sixth-most career games with 35 points and 10 rebounds since the 1976-77 season, tying Hakeem Olajuwon with 80 of those outings.

Rui Hachimura: D-plus/C-minus

Hachimura sometimes struggled to finish his shots at or near the rim. He shot 3 of 12 against the Raptors and scored just nine points and five rebounds in 33 minutes.

He made three straight points in the fourth quarter after missing nine of his first 10 shot attempts. Those two lines helped Los Angeles stay ahead when the Raptors were on their late run.

Austin Reaves: C-plus/B-minus

Reaves made just four of his 13 shot attempts and missed all six of his 3-point attempts. But he helped make up for that by getting to the free throw line, where he made 12 of 14. In total, he scored 20 points, dished out six assists and made two steals and a block, and he managed to shake off an apparently twisted ankle in the first half to play his normal number of minutes in the second half.

D’Angelo Russell: B-plus

Russell had his ups and downs to start the season, but on Friday he found himself near the top of his shooting range. He was 7 of 13 overall and 3 of 6 from downtown for 19 points, and he also dished out six dimes. Two of his 3-pointers came in the fourth quarter to help the Lakers maintain control of the contest.

LeBron James: One

James looked like he was back to his old self after suffering from cold-like symptoms over the past few days. He attacked well in transition and early offense, and he finished with 27 points on 9-of-17 shooting. He was particularly hot from beyond the arc, as he made five of his eight attempts since that zone, and he also had 10 assists and six rebounds while going the entire game without committing a turnover, which is quite rare for him.

Jaxson Hayes: B-plus

Hayes was a little more active than usual against the Raptors. He pulled down six rebounds and blocked two shots while scoring four points in 15 minutes of play.

Gabe Vincent: D

Vincent has struggled with his outside shooting to start this season. He entered Friday’s game shooting just 33.3% from the field and 25% from 3-point land, and against Toronto he missed all four of his 3-point attempts and was 1 of 6 overall.

Max Christie: B-minus

Christie put in a decent effort in 13 minutes on Friday. He made his only field goal attempt and all five of his attempts as a charity stripe, giving him seven points, and he did some work on the boards that resulted in five rebounds while also contributing an assist.

Dalton Knecht: C

Knecht was 2 of 5 overall and 1 of 3 from downtown for five points, two rebounds and an assist. But even though he hasn’t had a big statistical impact, his mere presence on the court helps his teammates, because opposing teams know they can’t get away with helping him defensively.

This article was originally published on LeBron Wire: Lakers player ratings: LA overtakes Raptors, improves to 4-2