LOS ANGELES — The injuries, the heavy schedule and inconsistent lineups had become the Lakers’ new normal. And playing their best amid the chaos has been a challenge.

The Lakers had lost five of their previous six games and 12 of their last 21 going into Sunday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors, the No. 4 team in the Eastern Conference. They had struggled to find the high level of energy that got them off to a fast start this season.

“When we’re at our best, we have high effort,” Coach JJ Redick said. “We have high connectivity and that’s reflected on both sides of the ball, and there’s a joy that we play with where we root for each other’s success.”

This was one of those games, though, where energy and effort were met with applause all around, especially for center Deandre Ayton, whose historic night enabled the Lakers to defeat the Raptors, 110-93, at Crypto.com Arena.

Ayton finished with 25 points on 10-of-10 shooting from the field and grabbed 13 rebounds, becoming only the third player in Lakers history to go perfect from the field with at least 10 field goals and at least 10 rebounds, joining Wilt Chamberlain (March 11, 1969) and Mitch Kupchak (Nov. 21, 1981). He is the first Laker to record a 25/10 game on 100% shooting without a turnover.

“The thing is, I never thought I would even be a part of something like that,” Ayton said. “I’m definitely honored and appreciative, but I love this game, so hopefully I get more of those.”

The moment was not lost on the Lakers’ 7-footer, who had his highest-scoring performance since Nov. 3.

“I needed that! I needed that,” he shouted in the postgame locker room.

Coming into Sunday’s game, Ayton had just four double-doubles in his past 10 games, which has contributed to the team’s defensive letdowns, resulting in blowouts and missed opportunities.

But after sitting out Saturday night’s loss in Portland because of a knee issue, Ayton returned to the lineup in full force and helped the Lakers (25-16) hold the Raptors (25-19) to a season-low 93 points while still focusing on his shooting.

“He was phenomenal,” Redick said. “I mean, he’s had a number of these games where he scores efficiently, but really just from a production standpoint, to get 20-plus points, 10-plus rebounds, he’s had games like this.

“It’s just a huge thing for our team … I thought he made a huge difference today.”

None of Ayton’s 10 shots was longer than 8 feet from the basket. He repeatedly converted lobs in the paint, and teammate Luka Doncic was grateful to see Ayton engaged and active in the paint.

“When he plays like this, focused on both ends, it helps us a lot. Helps us win games,” Doncic said. “He’s a very important guy for us. Very important on both ends of the floor. We’ve got to look for him more, and if he plays like this, we have a better chance to win.”

The Lakers got the ball to the 7-foot Ayton repeatedly against a Raptors team that is essentially playing without a center because Jakob Poeltl is out with an injury. Collin Murray-Boyles, a 6-7 forward, played center at times for a roster with nobody listed taller than 6-9.

The Lakers, with 12 healthy bodies, used a late-game surge to pull away from the Raptors, bringing back some of the fun that Redick said had been missing.

But the victory might not have happened if Doncic and LeBron James had decided to sit out.

Both stars were game-time decisions but started, as did veteran guard Marcus Smart, who limped to the locker room in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game after an on-court collision.

James, who was playing in only his second back-to-back set this season (both in the past week), finished with 24 points, seven assists and four rebounds in 31 minutes, capably completing a set of five games in seven days for the 41-year-old superstar who had previously been resting for one game in back-to-back sets.

Doncic finished with 25 points and seven assists.

The Lakers also got Jaxson Hayes back after he also missed the Portland game, adding more bodies to Redick’s patchwork lineup. The only key player still missing is starting guard Austin Reaves, who suffered a Grade 2 ankle sprain on Christmas Day.

Forward Rui Hachimura scored 10 in his fourth game back from missing seven games because of a calf injury.

Collectively, the Lakers struggled to slow the Raptors through three quarters as the teams fought to gain an advantage until late in the third. Neither team managed a double-digit lead until the Lakers surged ahead 91-80 on back-to-back baskets by James to begin the fourth quarter. They led 94-83 following a 3-pointer by Smart at the 9:38 mark then continued to inch ahead as the Raptors’ shooting fell off, especially from outside (21.9%).

The Lakers finished the game shooting 48.2% from the field and 39.8% from 3-point range.

The Lakers pulled away late in the fourth to secure the victory heading into their annual two-week Grammy road trip. The Lakers play at the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, then return to L.A. to play the Clippers at the Intuit Dome before getting back on a plane for a six-game stretch that includes games in Dallas, Chicago, Cleveland, Washington, New York and Brooklyn.

The Raptors jumped out to a quick 16-8 lead and maintained a seven-point advantage after one quarter, shooting 52% from the field. Doncic and James got off to an equally slow start. James, whose only other back-to-back games were the Sacramento Kings/Atlanta Hawks set early last week, had two points, while Doncic posted 12.

The Lakers finally got their game going, playing with the kind of success and trust that Redick spoke of before the game. They looked for one another under the basket for alley-oop baskets and rebounded well, while Doncic doubled his 3-pointers (4 for 8) and James scored 10 points, both finding ways around the Raptors’ top five defense to lead 55-54 at the half.

“This sport is built on trust, and it’s hard to build trust when there’s inconsistency in who the guy next to you is. And so trying to create that every night,” Redick said.

Scottie Barnes had 22 points and nine rebounds for the Raptors, who have lost back-to-back games for the first time in four weeks after the Clippers beat them in Toronto on Friday. Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 20 points and former Lakers draft pick Brandon Ingram added 19 points and seven assists for Toronto, which was playing the opener of a five-game trip. … Doncic received his 12th technical foul of the season in the first half for arguing. That’s the second-most in the NBA, trailing only Phoenix’s Dillon Brooks.