The NBA Playoffs are upon us, and what a first weekend of basketball it was. The best game of the weekend may just have been the last match-up we saw, an overtime thriller between the Houston Rockets and Portland Trailblazers.
Game 1 saw the Blazers send the game to overtime on a late tip-in from Lamarcus Aldridge, and then steal home-court advantage thanks to some clutch play from Damian Lillard after Aldridge fouled out.
Lillard and Aldridge were not just responsible for the biggest plays of the night for Portland, but they combined to put on a performance unlike anything we’ve seen between teammates in the last 20 years. How good were they? Dame and LA became the first teammates since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in the 1992 playoffs to go for 45+ and 30+ in the same game.
#NBA: Aldridge & Lillard are first teammates to score 45+ and 30+ in same playoff game since Jordan & Pippen in 1992. http://t.co/EkAWDcl1Qg
— Chris Sheridan (@sheridanhoops) April 21, 2014
While Lillard had a great game, Aldridge was even more incredible. The big man put together a stat line that we haven’t seen since the 87′ playoffs. Ironically, he did so with the last man to put those kind of numbers up in a playoff game sitting courtside in Houston.
LaMarcus Aldridge is first NBA player with 46+ points, 18+ rebounds and 2+ blocks in a playoff game since Hakeem Olajuwon (5/14/87 at SEA).
— Trail Blazers PR (@TrailBlazersPR) April 21, 2014
If Aldridge and Lillard keep up this kind of play, there’s no telling how far Portland can go in the playoffs.