LaMarcus Aldridge draws MVP hype as Blazers top Thunder
PORTLAND, Ore. — During the third quarter of the Portland Trail Blazers’ 111–104 victory Wednesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a 12-minute stretch in which LaMarcus Aldridge scored 16 points, a fan’s sign was flashed on the Moda Center’s JumboTron.
“La-MVP.”
Aldridge was that good Wednesday. In fairness, though, he’s been that good all season, arguably the biggest reason the Blazers sit atop the Western Conference with a 16–3 record. Unleashing a feathery turnaround and face-up jumper that repeatedly found the bottom of the nets regardless of the resistance applied by two-time all-defensive teamer Serge Ibaka, Aldridge finished with a team-high 38 points and 13 rebounds — not to mention five assists.
“I’ve been saying it from the start — he’s the best power forward in the game,” Blazers guard Wesley Matthews said. “He’s just willing us right now.”
He played like the best player on the floor Wednesday, even with the likes of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in the building.
“He was shooting turnarounds from almost the three-point line on top of our bigs and knocking them down,” Durant said of his fellow University of Texas alumnus. “That’s what great players do. They come through in the clutch and make shots and he’s a shot-maker.
“It looked like great defense on our part but better offense.”
Predictably, those two were terrific, combining for 54 points, 33 from Durant.
The Thunder (13–4) had beaten Portland seven consecutive times, and after two periods, an eighth seemed to be coming.
A contentious end to the first half produced the game’s first and only double-digit lead. Blazers coach Terry Stotts was miffed by a foul drawn by Westbrook as he was shooting a three-pointer, and his complaints yielded a technical foul. The visitors led 59–48 at the intermission.
But the Thunder were on the tail end of a road back-to-back, one night removed from a harder-than-expected triumph at the Sacramento Kings. Tired legs were evident in the third quarter, when the Blazers erased all of the 11-point halftime deficit and eventually took a 70–69 lead.
