We highlighted some of the more interesting numbers from L.A.’s Sunday evening victory over Portland at STAPLES Center, the seventh straight for the Purple and Gold to open the 2010-11 campaign:
4 Career triple-doubles for Pau Gasol after his impressive 20-point, 14-rebound, 10-assist performance against Portland. Gasol’s last TD came on 2/17/09 against Atlanta (12 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists); he did not have a TD in 2009-10, failing to produce 10 assists in any game. 15 Bench points scored by Shannon Brown, keyed by his 3-for-6 long-distance shooting. Matt Barnes added 13 of his own, plus four boards and two assists on 6-of-7 shooting. 16 Total points for Portland’s two best players, Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge. Jackson said that Roy didn’t look like himself, noting that he was less aggressive than usual, but credited Ron Artest’s defense as well. 21 Points for Lamar Odom, a season high, on 10-of-15 shooting. He added 12 rebounds and three assists; Portland Coach Nate McMillan said after the game that Odom was playing like an All-Star. 24 More rebounds collected by L.A. than Portland, 49 to 25, including a 14-6 edge on the offensive glass. 25 Point margin in the game after three quarters, things all but on ice for the Lakers, who’d built a 22-point lead at the half and 13-point margin after the first. Also the number of minutes played by Bryant, a luxury as always early in the season, towards his 12 points. 26 More points in the paint for the Lakers than the Blazers. 52.6 Three-point shooting percentage point at which four Lakers were at or above after the first seven games, significant because L.A. failed to have a single player over 40 percent last season: Lamar Odom (69 percent); Derek Fisher (66.7); Brown (55) and Steve Blake (52). Phil Jackson said that he was “enamored” with how well Brown’s shooting the ball, cited how much better Odom was shooting the ball and credited Bryant and Gasol with attracting a lot of attention to spread the floor for open shots. 121 Points scored by the Lakers, thanks to three quarters of at least 30 on the scoreboard. It was the team’s second-highest total, since 124 were dropped on Memphis.
