EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Pardon the confusion, please.
But which team was averaging a scintillating 126 points in The Bubble when playoffs began a week ago and which team could barely make anything outside the lane?
The Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers switched personas Monday in a big way as the Lakers took control of their first-round playoff series with a 135-115 Game 4 victory that blew past dominant.
The Lakers led by as many as 38 and celebrated Kobe Bryant Day by almost setting a team record with a suddenly resurgent offense.
Their 80-point outburst in the first half was the most by the Lakers in a playoff half since 1987 against Denver.
Yep, 1987. The "Showtime" Lakers. Magic, Worthy, Kareem, etc.
The Lakers’ 134 points were also their most in a playoff game since, again, 1987 (against Boston).
And to think the Lakers almost set a different kind of playoff record when they made only five three-pointers in Game 1 of the series.
LeBron James finished with 30 points Monday on impeccable 10-of-12 shooting, and Anthony Davis scored 16 of his 18 points in the first quarter as the Lakers led, 43-25.
Davis was also the only semi-negative part of the Lakers’ narrative, leaving the game early in the third quarter because of back spasms.
He didn’t seem overly bothered by his back at the time. The Lakers led, 91-53.
Bryant’s untimely death in January was honored Monday in Los Angeles and Orange County on 8/24, symbolizing the two jerseys he wore in his 20-year career with the Lakers.
With a Game 5 victory Wednesday, the Lakers would advance to the second round for the first time since 2011, a long wait for a franchise that prides itself on winning championships.
The Lakers have made it possible this year by stifling the suddenly-not-hot Portland offense.
The Trail Blazers are averaging only 101 points in the series, 25 below their average in the first nine games after the NBA restart. Monday's score could have easily been worse if the Lakers didn’t rest four of their starters in the fourth quarter.
It took Portland more than four minutes to even get on the scoreboard Monday, and it didn’t seem to improve much from there.
Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, Portland’s high-scoring backcourt duo, combined for a mundane 29 points on eight-for-22 shooting (36 percent).
The Lakers, meanwhile, shook off whatever shadows lurked behind them in their low-scoring Game 1 loss last Tuesday.
Their less-heralded backcourt of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Danny Green combined for 26 points as the Lakers made 12 of 28 from three-point range (42.9 percent).
Caldwell-Pope has now made nine of 18 from three-point range over his last three games, a marked turnaround from his 0-for-9 shooting night in Game 1.