The Los Angeles Lakers continued to have trouble on defense on Wednesday night at the Rose Garden, and their 116-106 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers left the purple and gold 0-2 on the season. Here is a quick look back at the loss, with some numbers:
Three: Rookie point guard Damian Lillard had a stellar game against Steve Nash and Steve Blake on Wednesday, with 23 points and 11 assists. The former Weber State star joined Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson and Isiah Thomas as the only three players in NBA history to have at least 20 points and 10 assists in their very first NBA game.
61.8%: Shaking off a painful foot injury, Kobe Bryant has made 21 of his 34 field goal attempts through two games, including 10-for-20 against the Blazers. Bryant started Wednesday by making five of his first six shots, then made five of his final 14 attempts.
45: The Lakers are 0-2 on the season, as they were to start last season as well. The Lakers had never opened two consecutive years with a pair of losses since moving to Los Angeles. Per ESPN Stats and Info, the last time the Lakers started 0-2 in consecutive seasons was 1956-57 and 1957-58, 45 years ago when the team was in Minneapolis. That 1957-58 season, one that produced a 19-53 record, did earn the Lakers the right to draft Elgin Baylor with the first pick in the draft, so it wasn't all bad.
4-18: Rip City has been more like ripped city for the Lakers, who have not fared well in Portland, at least during the regular season. The Lakers have lost three straight road games to the Blazers, and have dropped 18 of their last 22 regular season games at the Rose Garden, dating back to the 2010 season.
57.5%: What a difference a day made for Dwight Howard at the charity stripe. Howard made just three of 14 free throws (21.4%) in Tuesday's loss to Dallas, then followed that up by hitting 15 of 19 free throws Wednesday in Portland en route to 33 points and 14 rebounds. Howard's 78.9% percentage marked a nearly 58% difference over his shooting the night before.
1.27: Thanks to Dexter Fishmore at Silver Screen and Roll, we can see that Portland racked up 116 points on just 91 possessions, an astonishing 1.27 points per possession. The Lakers were 13th in the NBA last season with 1.04 points allowed per possession.
24: The Lakers shot 50% from the field, and outrebounded the Blazers 45-30, yet they were never really in the game in the fourth quarter. That was thanks in part to 24 turnovers, six more than the team had in any game last season.