Serge Ibaka of the Toronto Raptors was red hot in the first half against the Los Angeles Lakers. And in the process, he achieved a feat last accomplished by NBA great Tim Duncan.
As observed by Justin Kubtatko of StatMuse, Ibaka — who went 11-for-11 from the field in the first half replicated a similar feat last done by Duncan on May 17, 2006.
The @Raptors Serge Ibaka went 11-11 from the field and scored 26 points in the first half versus the Lakers tonight. He is the first player to make at least 11 field goals in a first half without a miss since Tim Duncan did so on May 17, 2006 (playoff game).
— Justin Kubatko (@jkubatko) November 5, 2018
In the first half, the Raptors outscored the Lakers, 49-71 — which included a 42-point first quarter. Serge Ibaka took advantage of the Lakers' non-existent defense. On top of draining shots from the perimeter and downtown, Ibaka got a ton of hoops inside the paint.
Right off the bat, the Lakers looked lost on defense. They were also subpar on the offensive side of the court. The Raptors, meanwhile, were completely in sync despite the absence of top player Kawhi Leonard.
In the young season, the Raptors are in the top 10 in terms of offensive and defensive rating, with 113.7 and 105.8, respectively.
Despite the blockbuster changes made over the summer, which included the firing of Dwane Casey and the trade deal which sent DeMar DeRozan to the San Antonio Spurs, the Raptors are slowly proving that they're still one of the top teams in the NBA. And maybe they even got better.
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