LaMarcus Aldridge's Return To Portland

On Wednesday, November 11, 2015, LaMarcus Aldridge made his first visit back to Portland, Oregon after leaving the Trail Blazers to sign with the San Antonio Spurs. Aldridge had spent his last nine seasons with the Trail Blazers, but after a disappointing last season, he decided to sign with the Spurs during free agency. This was the first time he would play in the Moda Center against his former teammates since he left. The game was scheduled to be played at 9:30 Central Time and was televised nationally on ESPN. When Aldridge's name was announced in the Spurs starting lineup, he received a mixed reaction from the home crowd with about half booing him and half cheering him in gratitude of what he accomplished during his time there. He shook off all the emotion and just got ready to play.
Aldridge scored the second basket of the game for the Spurs off a nice assist from point guard Tony Parker. With his first shot made, LaMarcus was able to get into game mode and completely stopped thinking about the emotion of his return and focused solely on winning the game. The first quarter was pretty much neck and neck, with both teams holding the lead for a substantial amount of time. By the end of the first 12 minutes, the Spurs led the game 28-24.
In the second quarter, the Trail Blazers looked to regain the lead and get their home fans back in the game, but they were unsuccessful. With a big quarter from Kawhi Leonard, the Spurs were able to outscore the Trail Blazers 30-22 in the second quarter to maintain a 58-46 lead over the home team going into half time.
After a disappointing first half from the home team from Portland, Damian Lillard, the star point guard of the Trail Blazers,  knew he needed to step up. With his team down by twelve points, Lillard knocked down a three point basket on a Portland fast break. After Tim Duncan, of the Spurs, answered Lillard's three with two free throws, Damian took the ball down to the other side of the court and hit another big three point shot. Throughout the rest of the quarter, both teams kept exchanging baskets. By the end of the third quarter, the Trail Blazers had outscored the San Antonio Spurs 29-23 to start the second half. The home team would be going into the fourth and final quarter down by 6 with a score of 75-81 in favor of the Spurs.
The fourth quarter looked to be a nice and exciting finish with the Portland Trail Blazers within striking distance of the San Antonio Spurs, and after outscoring the Spurs in the previous quarter, the home team had all the momentum as well as an electric crowd. With back-to-back buckets from Gerald Henderson and Ed Davis, the home team got within two of the Spurs lead. Unfortunately for the home fans, Danny Green, of the Spurs, knocked down a big three to stun the crowd. After allowing the Trail Blazers to get within two, San Antonio never let them come that close again. The Spurs completely dominated the rest of the game, and ended up winning 113-101.
Overall, the Spurs played very well against the struggling Trail Blazers. LaMarcus Aldridge had a dominant game against his former team. He ended up leading the game in points with 23 in 35 minutes playing his former teammates and close friends. While the home team fans went home unhappy, LaMarcus Aldridge had a very nice return to Portland.