LOS ANGELES — If ever the Lakers needed a win, it was Friday in Toronto.

They were in a 2-9 swoon since the All-Star break, had not won on the road since Jan. 25 and were in danger of falling to 10th in the Western Conference. 

A true team effort led them to a 128-123 overtime victory over the Toronto Raptors, the Lakers getting a contribution from LeBron James all the way down to Wenyen Gabriel. 

James scored 36 points and was a monster late in the game, totaling 19 points and two blocked shots in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Russell Westbrook also turned in a strong game and posted his first triple-double since Dec. 31 — 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Westbrook tied to score in the final seconds of regulation by stealing the ball from Scottie Barnes and making a 3-pointer at the other end with 0.4 seconds left. It looked like his right foot was on the line but replays showed he pulled it behind the line in time before releasing his shot and tying the game at 116-116.

James stamped his approval after the game.

“[Westbrook] stepped on the line and then had the mind frame to step back behind the line and knock that thing down,” he told Spectrum SportsNet.

James did his share of drilling big shots too, including a turnaround three-pointer he banked in from the right side.

He is now only 19 points behind Karl Malone for second place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

“Any time I’m linked with the greats, it’s very humbling,” James said. “It doesn’t make sense to me from where I came from.”

Short-handed most of the season, the Lakers were even more so Friday. Anthony Davis was still sidelined by a sprained foot, and Carmelo Anthony and Wayne Ellington were held out because of a non-COVID illness. Talen Horton-Tucker also sat out because of a sprained ankle.

Gabriel scored a career-high 17 points and Avery Bradley stepped up in overtime with a 3-pointer from the corner with 32.5 seconds left and a pair of free throws with 12.8 seconds to go.

“I love how our guys are staying in the fight,” Lakers Coach Frank Vogel said, adding that they had not “let go of the rope and give in.”

The Lakers (30-40) remain a game ahead of New Orleans for ninth place in the West.

The Raptors were a red-hot team. They had won five games in a row, all on the road, including victories over Phoenix, Denver, the Clippers and Lakers.

In their 114-103 victory over the Lakers earlier this week, Toronto took a 30-6 lead in the first quarter. The Lakers shot only 26% in the first half

Before that game, Vogel said the No. 1 frustration with the team this season was the nagging habit of falling behind early by large deficits.

There was no such issue Friday. The Lakers took a 59-55 lead into the locker room with help from James and Gabriel (14 points). It was their first halftime lead since Feb. 9.

The Lakers have road games Saturday in Washington and Monday in Cleveland before returning home for a game next Wednesday against Philadelphia.