Taking care of No. 1

Pau Gasol needed this game, a chance to wash away an 0-12 playoff record from his past.

Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom and Luke Walton needed it too, an opportunity to push the failures of the last three seasons further back into their psyches.

Above all, the Lakers needed it, the franchise’s first victory in a Game 1 since the 2004 Western Conference finals, back when Shaquille O’Neal was still a fixture out here and Kevin Garnett was the man in Minnesota.

The Lakers celebrated their debut as the West’s top-seeded team with a 128-114 victory Sunday over the Denver Nuggets. Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Wednesday at Staples Center.

It wasn’t entirely poetic, but it didn’t need to be as long as Gasol and Odom kept pounding away on the inside and the Lakers kept finding each other for easy scores, over and over, as if they were playing five on three.

Gasol set the agenda with a 36-point, 16-rebound, eight-assist effort that included seven dunks, five layups and a degree of fulfillment for a player who had never won a playoff game.

Odom was caffeinated throughout the game, crashing the boards and converting numerous attempts around the basket on the way to 17 points and 14 rebounds.

Bryant wasn’t great -- 32 points on nine-for-26 shooting -- but greatness wasn’t needed from him on a day when Walton came off the bench to collect 16 points and five assists.

It was enough for longtime public-address announcer Lawrence Tanter to intone afterward, “One down and 15 to go.”

The playoffs had definitely arrived, a glance at Phil Jackson’s hand providing all the evidence necessary. The Lakers’ coach was wearing a Lakers 2002 championship ring, although he suggested he was getting tired of it.

“I hate wearing this thing,” said Jackson, who typically slips on the ring of his last championship team for the playoffs. “It’s been worn now too often. This has been three years in a row now that I’ve had to wear this.”

It’s too early to forecast what May or June holds, but there were promising early signs for Lakers followers, including Jack Nicholson high-fiving Sasha Vujacic after the Lakers guard blocked Eduardo Najera’s shot to end the second quarter.

Gasol dominated, making 14 of 20 shots, eight of eight free throws and, why not, adding three blocked shots in his 45-minute exhibition. And to think it came against Marcus Camby, the reigning NBA defensive player of the year.

“A big-time player, top 10 in the league, definitely,” Odom said of Gasol.

Odom wasn’t so bad either, making eight of 14 shots and picking up six assists in a Lakers passing wheel that included Odom, Gasol, Walton and even Vladimir Radmanovic, who also had six assists.

On one microcosmic play, Odom dribbled behind his back, fed Walton on the wing, and got the ball right back for a dunk off Walton’s lob.

The Lakers had assists on 33 of their 46 field goals.

“I think that’s definitely one of our biggest strengths, the way we move the ball and we share the ball and the ability of passing that we have. . . . Great basketball IQs,” Gasol said.

The Nuggets didn’t shoot too well (44.8%), even though they were on fire before they arrived at Staples Center.

One of their team buses smelled like smoke after a mechanical failure on the way to the game, causing a 30-minute delay as the Nuggets waited on the shoulder of the Santa Monica Freeway. They arrived at the arena later than planned but still managed to get in most of their pregame workouts and were entrenched in the game by halftime, trailing, 58-56.

Then the Lakers outscored the Nuggets in the third quarter, 39-22, and that was pretty much the end of that.

Allen Iverson had 30 points, as did Carmelo Anthony, who endured “D-U-I” chants from fans on a few occasions, a reference to his recent arrest on suspicion of drunk driving.

There were choppy moments throughout the game, and Denver had four technical fouls, a flagrant foul and an ejection after Iverson was tossed for arguing a call with 2:10 to play.

Jackson, for his part, wasn’t thrilled with the Lakers’ defense because he never likes to see an opponent score more than 110, even an up-tempo team like Denver. A victory is a victory, though, even in the playoffs.

“Our job remains to win the game at home on Wednesday night and establish some momentum in this series and put them in a desperate situation, going home and having to win,” Jackson said.

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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com