Lakers relieved to get first win of season

It took them until the fourth game of the season but the Los Angeles Lakers were finally able to get into the win column and they did it in a big way by blowing out the visiting Detroit Pistons, 108-79, in the Staples Center on Sunday night.

The Lakers avoided their worse start since their arrival in L.A. from Minneapolis and did so with a balanced attack that went inside-out and allowed Kobe Bryant to facilitate the offense in place of the injured Steve Nash. It resulted in eight assists for Bryant and 28 points for Dwight Howard. Pau Gasol also chipped in with 14 points as the Lakers frontline was too much for the Pistons to handle.

That first win isn't a title, but it's a good thing to off the Lakers' shoulders.

"I think it's more of a relief for Mike [Brown] than it is for anybody else," said Bryant on NBA.com. "We're good. It feels good. We did what we were supposed to do. It feels good to see what we've been working on come to fruition out there during the game."

The frontline has adjusted the most to the new Princeton offense Brown has instituted with Howard and Gasol both putting up major offensive numbers through the first few games. Howard is just glad to finally get that first win out of the way.

"It feels so good," Howard said. "My first win here. It feels good for all of us. It was a little frustrating after the first three losses but we kept our composure, I think, for the most part, and we got a good win tonight."

The Lakers play the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, Nov. 7 at 9:00 pm ET.