Daily NBA Fix 4-21-14: LaMarcus Aldridge, Damian Lillard Blaze A Playoff Trail
By Phil Watson
Welcome to the Daily NBA Fix for Monday, April 21, the morning after LaMarcus Aldridge rewrote both personal and franchise record books.
Aldridge, the All-Star power forward, scored a Portland Trail Blazers franchise playoff-record 46 points while helping the Blazers steal Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series at Houston Sunday night with a 122-120 overtime win.
As good as Aldridge—and Damian Lillard—were down the stretch of this game, this was as much a matter of the Rockets losing as it was the Trail Blazers winning. James Harden was just 8-for-28 on the night and Dwight Howard struggled to make free throws and, thus, the Rockets struggled to close out the game.
Houston coughed up a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter and Portland was able to get back into the game riding the grating but effective Hack-A-Howard tactic.
But give the Blazers credit for resilience. Portland was down 10 with 3:58 to go in regulation and trailed by six in overtime before coming back for the win.
And then there was Damian Lillard, making his postseason debut. He sure played like a neophyte in the boiling playoff cauldron. All he did was score 31 points, get nine rebounds, deal five assists and commit one turnover against renowned pain in the &%# Patrick Beverley.
The Daily NBA Fix will do what it did all season long, deliver highlights, game capsules, the top and bottom five players and, yes, we’ll still be handing out the Goose Egg, Clean and Sober and Ironman awards. We’ll also have informational tidbits and a look at the daily lines for those who want to drop a buck or two on a wager.
Check out the highlights below from the night that was, then get into the game capsules (home teams in CAPS).