After a few minutes of the first quarter has passed, Jake can see that in this game Kobe and Shaq were performing well, so he could be more relaxed and focus on assists and tentative three-point shots in some moves.
Even though the Portland Trail Blazers team was making a double-team defense on Jake, the Los Angeles Lakers team's strategy of pushing forward in the first quarter and second quarter continued.
The Los Angeles Lakers team had the best attack of the season and with Jake drawing the attention of the Portland Trail Blazers defense it was easier for Rick, Kobe, and Shaq to attack, in addition, Dennis seemed to be performing well in that game too and was helping with some offensive and defensive rebounds.
So in this game with all the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team having a good performance, it was difficult for the players of the Portland Trail Blazers team to defend the attack of the Lakers team.