Andrew Bynum records a Triple Double

Sunday was a very historic day in the NBA playoffs. Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum is finally playing up to his potential. Bynum showed off how good he truly is the Lakers 103-80 opening round playoff win over the Denver Nuggets. Bynum finished the game with 10 blocks, which tied a post season record. Bynum also finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds giving him a triple double. The points-rebounds-blocks triple double had been done only once before in playoff history.

That last Los Angeles Laker to record any kind of trouble double in the playoffs was Magic Johnson, who did it in 1991. The 10 blocks are a record for the historic Lakers franchise.

Before Bynum’s performance on Sunday only two other players had recorded a double digit block game in the playoffs. Former Utah Jazz center Mark Eaton, blocked 10 shots against the Houston Rockets on during the 1985 playoffs. 5 years later Hall-of-Famer Hakeem Olajuwon, tied Eaton’s mark with 10 blocks against the Lakers. Olajuwon, also had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Here is what Bynum told ABC’s Lisa Salters right after the game.

Bynum told ABC sideline reporter Lisa Salters that the Laker bench told him “he needed two more [to get the record], and I was just jumping at everything trying to get it.”

“You know, it was very big,” Bynum said of the accomplishment. “It shows I can do two things out there, offense and defense. Today, I was just being an animal out there on defense and we won by 15. So maybe, you know, note to self: The more I play D, the better we’ll be.”

Kobe Bryant on Bynum performance.

“His timing was impeccable today,” Bryant said of Bynum. “He really understood the rhythm of their offensive players. He was just there at the exact moment, either to change or block the shot.”

You can see why the Lakers don’t want to trade Bynum, who has been in multiple trade rumors. He has tightened the gap of Dwight Howard for the best center in the game. He averaged a career-high 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds this season and was selected to the All-star game.

Check out all of Bynum’s blocks in the video below.

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Tags: Andrew Bynum, Los Angeles Lakers