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 He hesitated. He passed up shots. He failed to establish any rhythm.
Now, with more than a quarter of the season having passed, Aldridge
is more comfortable as a San Antonio Spur after signing with them as
a free agent over the summer.
Aldridge scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in just 27 minutes
as the Spurs defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 109-87 Friday night,
improving to 12-0 at home this season.
Aldridge made the Western Conference all-star team as a Portland
Trail Blazer the last four seasons. He averaged 21 or more points
the last five years but he has scored 20 points only five times this
season and averages fewer than 16.
"When you are playing with a whole group of new players, it takes
time to understand where your place is," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich
said. "Sometimes I think he has deferred too much because he is
trying to fit in. Usually, that's the right thing to do when you
enter an organization. Any of us who has a new job defers in the
beginning and tries to fit. I think he's slowly getting over that
and becoming more demonstrative."
Guard Patty Mills scored a season-best 22 for San Antonio (19-5),
converting 9 of 11 shots. Forward Kawhi Leonard added 16.
Rookie guard D'Angelo Russell led the Lakers (3-20) with a
season-high 24 points while also contributing six rebounds and six
assists. Guard Lou Williams scored 19.
Guard Kobe Bryant, making his first of two appearances in San
Antonio in his final season, scored 12.
Russell, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 draft, returned to the
starting lineup after a two-game demotion. His return was
precipitated by a sprained ankle that forced starter Jordan Clarkson
to miss the game after scoring 23 in Wednesday's overtime loss at
Minnesota.
"He's more comfortable," Lakers coach Byron Scott said. "He has a
lot of confidence right now."
San Antonio led by 17 with less than five minutes remaining in the
third quarter. The Lakers chipped away for the next four minutes,
and then cut the deficit to nine with a 3-point basket by Nick Young
with 52 seconds left.
Mills turned the Lakers away, making three jump shots in the first
three minutes of the fourth quarter, and soon the Spurs were
comfortably ahead.
Bryant hit his first four shots, all of them those famous
spring-loaded jumpers, helping the Lakers take an eight-point lead
with two minutes left in the first quarter. The Spurs responded by
finishing the quarter with 12 straight points, highlighted by two
Mills' 3-pointers and a back-door layup from Manu Ginobili courtesy
of a pass from Boris Diaw.
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Mills scored 13 in the half. Aldridge topped that with 16 points,
including 14 in the first quarter.
"We need him to be aggressive," Spurs forward David West said. "He
knows that. It's just taken a little time."
Russell and Williams scored 15 apiece in the half for the Lakers.
Each made a 3-point basket during the final two minutes, enabling
the Lakers to turn a seven-point deficit to two at the half.
Then the Spurs reached for something extra that the Lakers could not
match.
"We knew at halftime, they had another gear or two that they could
go to, let's see how we react to it," Scott said. "I thought our
guys got a little frazzled. But that's a great team."
NOTES: San Antonio Spurs G Tony Parker did not play Friday, coach
Gregg Popovich electing to give him the night off to rest. Ray
McCallum started in place of Parker. ... Lakers starting G Jordan
Clarkson missed the game with a sprained ankle. Coach Byron Scott
said he does not think Clarkson will be ready to play at Houston on
Saturday. ... Lakers G Kobe Bryant will play one more game in San
Antonio, on Feb. 6, before his retirement at the end of the season.
Barring the unlikely event that the Lakers make the playoffs, Bryant
will retire with a 3-2 edge over San Antonio in playoff series won
in which he participated. Bryant missed the 2013 series won by the
Spurs with an injury. Bryant's 45 points against San Antonio in the
2001 Western Conference semifinals is a record by a Spurs' playoff
opponent. "There aren't too many people who understand how you bring
it night after night for all those years at that level," Spurs coach
Gregg Popovich said. "He's one of those very, very few guys who did
that."
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