Suns’ bench crushes Mavs
court,” Popovich said. “He’s the reason we are hanging in there.”
As the focal point of the offense while the Spurs wait for Kawhi Leonard to round back into shape after he missed the first 27 games of the season with a sore quadriceps, Aldridge is averaging 22.3 points on 49.2 percent shooting. It’s his best norm since he led the Trail Blazers with 23.4 points in 2014-15, his final season in Portland before joining the Spurs in free agency.
Aldridge also averages 8.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 blocks while leading the team with 12 double-doubles.
“Plus, there’s his lead- ersh ip,” Popov ich said. “Whether it’s timeouts or being involved with other people, picking people up when we are not playing well, he’s been really special this year. Very special.”
Special enough to warrant a return to the All-Star Game after his streak of five straight appearances was snapped last season.
“It’s the all-around player that he has become, even more so than when he previously made the All-Star team,” said Spurs guard Patty Mills in stating his case for Aldridge to journey in February to Los Angeles for the elite game.
“He’s doing it on both sides of the court with energy and effort plays, stuff that isn’t on the stat sheet like screens and blocking out and how physical he is. Even a simple thing like rolling hard to the basket (is important) because it leaves Bryn Forbes open for wide-open 3s.”
The bottom line with Aldridge, Mills said, is he’s making his teammates better.
“That’s a real skill in itself,” Mills said. “And he’s been
The Spurs are slowly returning to full health, something the Los Angeles Clippers can only hope for.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 19 points and San Antonio beat the undermanned Clip- pers 109-91 on Monday night in Kawhi Leonard’s home debut this season.
Los Angeles was without five players, including leading scorers Blake Griffin and Lou Williams, but San Antonio had little empathy considering the rash of injuries it has faced.
“We’re going through the same thing,” said Spurs veteran Tony Parker, who played in just his 10th game. “We don’t have everybody and we have a lot of guys in minute restrictions and stuff like that. Other teams, they’re coming at us and so, we have to do the same thing. You just have to respect them and (know that) everybody can play in the NBA.”
Parker had 16 points and seven assists in 23 minutes, consistent whether we have won or lost.”
Aldridge has led the Spurs in scoring in 26 of the team’s 31 games, the most of any player in the NBA this season. Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Hous- ton’s James Harden are tied for second with 22 each.
Operating more with his back to the basket than he did last season when he aver- aged 17.3 points per game, Aldridge is taking 17.5 shots per game. Rudy Gay, the team’s No. 2 scorer, is mustering just 9.5.
With a game-high 19 points in Monday night’s 109-91 his second-longest stint after missing the first 19 games while recovering from left quadriceps tendon surgery.
San Antonio is taking a sim- ilar incremental approach with Leonard, limiting his minutes after he missed the first 27 games of the season due to right quadriceps tendinopathy.
“He didn’t get hurt again, so, he’s OK,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Leon- ard’s abbreviated outing.
Leonard did not play in the second half against the Clippers after scoring seven points in 16 minutes during the first half, ending his streak of 110 straight games scoring in double figures.
The 6-foot-7 forward made his first attempt, pulling up from 13 feet in the lane for his first points in the AT&T Center since May 9. Leonard gave the crowd and the Spurs’ bench a scare when he tum- bled awkwardly to the court on a contested layup, but he got up quickly while shak- ing his head over the noncall as Popovich screamed at the officials.
Leonard attempted only win over the Los Angeles Clippers, Aldridge raised his streak of double-digit games to 33. It’s the team’s longest such streak after Leonard had his run snapped at 110 games after scoring seven points in 16 minutes Monday night.
It’s all reminiscent of Aldridge’s days as the mas- ter of the Moda Center, the ruler of Rip City.
“I feel as confident now as I did when I was with Port- land,” he told NBA.com recently.
That’s saying a lot considering he left Portland to sign a four-year, $80 million deal with the Spurs as the Blazers’ all-time leader in rebounds (5,435) and among the top five in several statistical cate- gories, including points (sec- ond with 12,562).
“I had a lot of great moments with Portland,” Aldridge said.
But it’s all about what he’s doing now for the Spurs. While the franchise has seven shots, driving and kicking the ball more than he attempted to shoot. San Antonio was minus-three when Leonard was on the court as the team tries to work him back into the lineup.
“It’s very hard to tell because he’s playing only 15 minutes,” Spurs veteran Manu Ginobili said. “The rotation is not quite there. So, I think it’s a work in prog- ress.”
The Clippers are weeks away from being able to make
major assessments, with Griffin expected to miss two months after spraining his left knee Nov. 27 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
“This has just been a terrible season so far for our health,” guard Austin Rivers said. “Seems like one guy comes in, two guys go out. One guy comes in, two guys go out. Two guys come back, one guy goes out. It’s just constant. We’ve got to keep our head up.”
Los Angeles rookie Jamil Wilson had 13 points. DeAn- dre Jordan also scored 13 to go with 14 rebounds. famously downplayed the importance of individual honors under Popovich, there’s a grow i ng sen se there could be an outcry if Aldridge doesn’t make the All-Star team.
“I think every year (with the Spurs) he has been (an All-Star), even last year,” guard Danny Green said. “We always had one of the top records in the West the last couple of years. This year is a little different (because of injuries), but we still have a top team. I feel like a lot of our guys definitely should get more recognition than they do. It’s crazy that a guy like him is kind of overlooked and under the radar.”
No matter what happens, Aldridge is just happy he’s well thought of by his teammates and that he has found a comfort zone.
“It’s always nice to be seen in that light,” Aldridge said. “I feel like I’ve tried to work hard and grow as a leader here. Pop has helped me to grow in that role. He’s given me the opportunity to be more of a leader and I’ve also tried to take on more defensively and make more happen on that end.
“It’s all about just having the mindset that I can go out and do it, and so far it’s been good.”
Isaiah Canaan and the Phoenix Suns were confident they could come back to win. After all, they had just done it two days ago.
Alex Len had 14 points and 14 rebounds to help Phoenix rally past the Dallas Mavericks 97-91 on Monday night for its second consecutive victory on the road.
“It’s a long game and it’s all about getting stops and converting on the other end,” Canaan said. “I told them when we get stops, the shots are going to fall in the second half.”
TJ Warren scored 19 points and Canaan added 17 as the Suns (11-21) improved to 2-0 on a three-game trip despite playing without injured guard Devin Booker. Phoenix erased a 15-point deficit Saturday in a 108-106 win against Minnesota.
Canaan, Len and Troy Daniels (12 points) all reached double figures off the bench as the Suns’ reserves outscored their Mavericks counterparts 55-28.
“It’s crazy. When they come in w ith t hat high energy, playing the right way, spacing the floor, it works a lot for us,” Warren said. “Continue to do that, it’s going to translate into wins.”
Dallas (8-23) lost its third straight game and has one win in its last seven.
“You have to give credit to Phoenix; they beat us badly,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “Bad starts and poor finishes are the recipe for losses.”
Harrison Barnes had 26 points and Devin Harris added 14 for Dallas. Yogi Ferrell and Wesley Matthews each scored 13.
Phoenix came from behind and won the game in the fourth quarter.
“Our defense kept us in it again,” Suns interim coach Jay Triano said. “That was the key for us . ... If we can keep playing good defense and make it tough for teams to score and rebound, we’ll figure out a way to score eventually.”