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NBA: 3 things to remember from LaMarcus Aldridge’s career

By Josh Cornelissen

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 05: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) LaMarcus Aldridge #21 of the Brooklyn Nets in action against the New York Knicks at Barclays Center on April 05, 2021 in New York City. The Nets defeated the Knicks 114-112. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 05: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) LaMarcus Aldridge #21 of the Brooklyn Nets in action against the New York Knicks at Barclays Center on April 05, 2021 in New York City. The Nets defeated the Knicks 114-112. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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LaMarcus Aldrdige, Portland Trail Blazers
NBA, Portland Trail Blazers Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images /

LaMarcus Aldridge destroyed the Houston Rockets in the NBA playoffs

LaMarcus Aldridge played in 72 career postseason games, averaging 20.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. He broke 40 points three times, and two of those times came with the Portland Trail Blazers in back-to-back games against the Houston Rockets in the 2013-14 NBA playoffs. The two teams tied in the regular season with a 54-28 record, and the Rockets won home-court advantage based on the tiebreaker.

Aldridge and the Trail Blazers rolled into Houston and turned the series on its head, dropping James Harden and company on their heads. Aldridge dropped 46 points and 18 rebounds in a Game 1 win, playing all but three minutes and even nailing a pair of 3-pointers, his only two long-range makes of that postseason for him.

He followed it up in Game 2 with another 43 points on 18-28 shooting, a blistering 64.3 percent from the field. 11 of those makes were mid-rangers from the right side of the basket, his favorite place to set up. In total, he went 13-19 from outside the paint. The Blazers won by seven, up 2-0 in the series. In Game 6 Aldridge dropped another 30 and set up Damian Lillard to hit a walk-off shot at the end of regulation.

That 2013-14 season was the peak of Aldridge’s time in Portland; injuries doomed their 2014-15 season and then Aldridge left in free agency for his home state of Texas and the San Antonio Spurs. But he left fans in Portland, Houston and across the country with lasting memories of a complete demolishment in the opening two games of 2014.

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