LaMarcus Aldridge leads Trail Blazers to victory over Wizards

The Portland Trail Blazers, led by the injured LaMarcus Aldridge, outlasted the Washington Wizards in the Moda Center to win 103-96 for their 20th home win of the 2014-15 NBA season.

Recap

The Trail Blazers started cold as the Wizards leapt out to an early 13-2 lead, at which point Terry Stotts called for time. They had yet to make a field goal. Their only points had come on a pair of Damian Lillard free throws. It was clear that the team would have to rely on Aldridge out of the timeout, despite his torn and wrapped left thumb. Aldridge scored 10 points in the remainder of the period, keeping the game from getting out of hand. The Trail Blazers followed a 12-point deficit into the second quarter; 20-32.

The second quarter was much more even. Lillard heated up, Nene cooled off, and the Trail Blazers bench began to contribute in a meaningful way—though Aldridge was held scoreless. Once the threes started falling for Portland it became clear that the Wizards were not going to run away with the game in the first half. The Trail Blazers dug their heels in to hold tight, but gained very little ground, still trailing by double-digits at halftime, 45-55.

Aldridge returned to form in the third quarter, nearly doubling his score while John Wall and Bradley Beal continued to push. The Trail Blazers kept chunking away at the deficit until they had their first lead of the night (69-68) with 1:40 to go in the period. At this point, Wesley Matthews had caught fire and buried three of his eventual five 3-pointers for the night. The Trail Blazers entered the fourth quarter down just one point.

The fourth quarter belonged to Aldridge, who drew three crucial fouls on Nene in less than a minute. Nene would eventually foul out (putting Meyers Leonard on the line for three free throws) and Aldridge went to work, finishing with a game-high 26 points. The Trail Blazers pulled ahead to win the game by seven in the final minutes, 103-96.

Players

LaMarcus Aldridge was pretty clearly uncomfortable with his left thumb heavily wrapped, but it didn’t seem to affect his game. He flexed and grimaced in moments that allowed it, but was his usual dominant self. He received MVP chants in the fourth quarter from a Portland crowd that appreciated the challenge he is facing. He finished with 26 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

Damian Lillard played aggressively, taking it to the rack more often than pulling up from deep. He scored eight of his 20 points from the free throw line. Tonight marked the first time in his career that he has totaled six straight games of 20+ points and 5+ assists.

Wesley Matthews was unsurprisingly on fire from deep. He made 5-11 including a desperation step-back late in the shot clock and heavily contested. He finished the game with 19 points, three rebounds, and three assists.

Dorell Wright and Meyers Leonard also contributed valuably from the arc, making 3-5 and 2-3 respectively. They combined for 19 of the bench’s 32 points, which was more than the Wizards’ bench scored altogether (17 points).

Notes

• With his third three of the game, Paul Pierce became the fourth player in NBA history to reach 2,000 career three-pointers.

• The Trail Blazers are now tied with the Golden State Warriors for most wins at home (20) and sport an 18-3 record against Eastern Conference teams.

The Trail Blazers now have a day off before starting a 4-game Eastern Conference road trip in Brooklyn on Monday, January 26^th.

Next: LaMarcus Aldridge proves his commitment to Portland