It’s not a coincidence that the Spurs looked like a different team with LaMarcus Aldridge back in the lineup in their 119-109 victory over the Mavericks on Tuesday night. As it turns out, having an actual NBA caliber center on the floor most of the game is still a good thing. That was never more clear than in the closing minutes of the contest when LaMarcus scored or assisted on 11 straight points as the Spurs stretched their lead out to 12 with just 1:27 to go.
He started it off by dropping two straight buckets on Kristaps Porzingis, the first on an easy layup off a nice high-low pass from Trey Lyles out of a horns setup and the second on a difficult pullup jumper.