The Official Site of LaMarcus Aldridge

Sat, Nov 1st 2008, 15:30

Aldridge hits a 'booster' shot

In what turned out to be part exhale and part exhilaration, the Trail Blazers rushed the court Friday night after beating — no, surviving — the San Antonio Spurs in a 100-99 victory that wasn’t decided until Michael Finley missed a short baseline jumper as time expired.

The win erased the bitter memories of Tuesday’s opening-night debacle in Los Angeles and ended a 12-game losing streak to the Spurs, a perennial Western Conference power.

“We haven’t beaten San Antonio since I’ve been here,” said coach Nate McMillan, who is in his fourth season in Portland. “It should be a confidence booster for us.”

Brandon Roy was the catalyst, scoring a team-high 26 points, and LaMarcus Aldridge hit what turned out to be the decisive points — a 21-foot jumper with 34.5 seconds left that increased the Blazers’ lead to 100-97.

“They double-teamed Brandon; I just shot it,” Aldridge said of his important shot. “Luckily it went in.”

It was a crazy and furious finish as neither team could convert on its final possession.

Clinging to a 100-99 lead with 22.8 seconds left, the Blazers tried to increase their cushion, but Travis Outlaw barreled into the lane like a bowling ball and missed a driving layup in traffic with 7.8 seconds left, knocking down Spurs star Tim Duncan as he fell.

Out of the pile of bodies came former Blazers forward and Portland native Ime Udoka, who pushed the ball upcourt and passed to Finley, a 13-year veteran known for his outside shooting. As the sellout crowd of 20,516 held its breath and the Blazers players on the sideline grasped each other, Finley let loose with a 15-foot baseline jumper in front of the Blazers bench with 0.4 seconds left. It was short, caroming off the rim and sending Blazers players onto the court.

Continue Reading….

LaMarcus’s postgame comments (3:05 into video)