Here is a by-the-numbers look at the Lakers’ 106-96 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
0
Points for Kobe Bryant in the game’s first 28 minutes. From there, Bryant scored the Lakers’ next 12 points in a two-minute span. Although 19-year veteran did not score the rest of the way, he handed out 13 assists for his second-straight double-double. However, Bryant’s night wasn’t all positive, as he tied the league’s season-high with 10 turnovers.
“They were trapping him. Every time they seemed to get him in that mid-post to low-post area,” said head coach Byron Scott. “If he turned to face them, he was just kind of waiting there to see what they were going to do. They were coming at him kind of aggressive.
“He just had pretty good space and made some good decisions as far as making shots and swinging it to the open guys. He was more of a facilitator tonight, but in the third quarter, he got it going.”
21
L.A.’s lead with 1:59 left in the third quarter. The Lakers outscored Detroit in the third period, 35-20, highlighted by a 15-1 run midway through. L.A. secured the 21-point advantage after a 9-2 stretch keyed by six points from Nick Young.
22
Points for Jordan Hill, who led all scorers. Hill went 10-for-15 from the field and hauled in 13 rebounds to record his 10th double-double of the season. The 27-year-old was unfazed by defenders, as he went 5-for-7 on contested shots and 5-for-8 when uncontested. Hill also grabbed five offensive rebounds, which netted him eight second-chance points.
36.7
Field goal percentage for Detroit. The Pistons went just 33-for-90 from the field, while the Lakers made six more baskets on nine fewer shots (48.1 percent). Detroit was particularly dreadful in the third quarter, when it went just 5-for-22 (22.7 percent), and no player made more than one shot.
62
Points from by the Lakers starters, who outscored Detroit’s starting five by 14. In addition to Bryant and Hill, Carlos Boozer (14 points), Wesley Johnson (13) and Jeremy Lin (11) reached double-digits by combining to shoot 14-for-24. Young also poured in 19 points off the bench to give L.A. six players in double figures.
Said Bryant: “I think we’re reading defenses a lot better in terms of getting in the right position and making defenses pay for their rotations and how we space and how we play off each other.”