PORTLAND — Count Derrick Rose among those happy that LaMarcus Aldridge was left off the All Star roster. The Bulls point guard doesn’t need a repeat of Monday night anytime soon.
Rose can do without his MVP-like performance being overshadowed. He doesn’t need his highlight-reel evening being outshined.
Yes, the Portland fans oohed and ahhed just about every time Rose touched the ball, but with Aldridge, they were simply awed.
The Blazers big man scored a career-high for the third time in three weeks, tallying 42 points and leading his team to a 109-103 win over Chicago. In doing so, he became the first Blazer to score 40 points in consecutive home games since Clyde Drexler did it on April 21 and 23 in 1989.
“It was fun. We came out, played with confidence,” said Aldridge, who shot 15 of 23 from the field and posted eight rebounds. “I thought we started a little slow defensively, but we picked it up as the game went along.”
Was he playing with a chip on his shoulder given the All Star snub?
“Nope. I don’t want to try and prove anything. Me getting 42 tonight isn’t going to change their mind, so what is it going to do for me?” added Aldridge, whose previous career-high was 40, which came against San Antonio last Tuesday. “I thought tonight, I just came out and I got those easy dunks early and that was my big thing that got me going.”
Easy dunks, hard dunks, dunks off of alley-oops or offensive rebounds — Aldridge was an all-out slam factory. His dominance prompted the video scoreboard to frequently cut to fans holding up signs reading “You’re our All Star, LaMarcus.” There were even some muffled “M-V-P” chants when he went to the line with four seconds left to attain the career-high.
The Blazers (28-24) last two wins at the Rose Garden have come against San Antonio (42-8) and Chicago (34-16), which happen to be the two best teams they’ve beaten all year. And while Aldridge received most of the fanfare for Monday’s victory Portland point guard Andre Miller may have been just as brilliant.
Miller scored 27 points and dished out 11 assists while going 7 of 11 from the field and 13 of 13 from the free-throw line. He tallied 10 points in the fourth quarter — all coming from the free-throw line.
Rose seemed mystified as to how to guard him throughout the night, but ask Portland forward Nicolas Batum, and he’ll tell you that’s not a major surprise.
“We knew Derrick Rose was a good offensive player,” Batum said. “But you have to play defense, too. He can’t guard Dre. You gotta play defense. He can’t play defense.”
Even so, his offense was as dazzling as it was efficient.
Rose scored 36 points on 14-of-27 shooting while handing out six assists.
The man who many consider to be the current MVP favorite may also have had the highlight of the night when he blew by Wesley Matthews and threw down a double-pumped jam in the fourth quarter.
Miller was impressed.
“He’s a good player, a good young player. I didn’t get to guard him that much, but he brings a lot of energy for a 22-year old,” Miller said. “He’s having a career year.”
But it wasn’t just Rose and Aldridge making SportsCenter-worthy plays Monday. Batum dunked a reverse alley-oop on a pass from Miller in the first half. And Rudy Fernandez tossed a spinning one-handed pass off a rebound to Matthews, who finished it with a jam.
The Blazers got the win without Dante Cunningham, who suffered a fractured right eye socket during Saturday’s win over Cleveland. Blazers coach Nate McMillan knew his absence would provide a challenge, but he’s more than accustomed to such adversity at this point.
“It was a gut check for our group tonight,” McMillan said. “Again, being short handed with Dante not being able to go, we had to step in and play some different roles.”
Roy may return soon
Brandon Roy said he will return to practice this week and plans on playing either Friday at Toronto or Sunday at Detroit.
The Blazers shooting guard has missed 29 games this season and is coming off double-knee surgery three weeks ago.
Despite Roy’s optimism,
McMillan said there is no concrete plan to re-insert him into the lineup.
“When I’m ready to suit up, I’ll suit up,” said Roy, who wants to start off by coming off the bench. “If he wants to play me, it’s up to him.”
Roy is a three-time All Star who was the Blazers’ first option before going down this year. Now, the offense is clearly run through Aldridge.
Is Roy going to adapt his game to accommodate?
“I think we’re all just going to help each other do well,” Roy said. “I don’t know how we’re going to run plays.”
