Even though Aldridge missed the alley-oop dunk pictured to the right there, it pretty much sums up how last night went for both Aldridge and the Spurs.Last night, the Blazers put together what could quite easily be considered their best game of the season so far. All you have to do is look at the final score to tell that it was something special. In what turned out to be perfect timing for a last minute tryout for the NBA All Star game, LaMarcus Aldridge completely dominated the Spurs with a career-high 40 points on 16-23 shooting, and brought down 11 rebounds as well.
“I think we held him to 40,” Popovich said chuckling. “I stopped counting after a while.
Sounds like it was just one of those nights for Aldridge. Tim Duncan and the San Antonio defense tried everything and couldn't slow him down. Joe Freeman sums it up well in his Oregonian report.
Almost as amazing as Aldridge's performance, and maybe even on the same level of unexpected, was that the Blazers handling the NBA's best team in the Spurs. The loss to the Blazers was only their eighth of the season. A little perspective on just how good the Spurs are, from Mike Tokito of the Oregonian:
"It took until February until they got their eighth loss. The Blazers got their eighth loss on Nov. 28, the Heat on Nov. 27, and the Rockets on Nov. 17."
So there you go. Great game all around for the guys. It's a game that you wish you had more than one day to soak up the satisfaction of winning. If nothing else, Aldridge's performance last night should finally get him over the hump and into the all star game.
Aldridge's stat line: 40 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block
