If you missed the last thirty seconds of Tuesday night’s game between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Dallas Mavericks, you missed one of the most exciting stretches of play the NBA has seen all season.
Portland was trailing Dallas 98-101 with just over thirty seconds left in the fourth quarter when Blazers forward Nicolas Batum hit an off-balance three-pointer over Vince Carter to tie the game. Then, with 11.4 seconds left on the clock, Dirk Nowitzki answered for the Mavs, draining a big three to regain the lead, 104-101.
That’s when LaMarcus Aldridge came to save the day.
The Trail Blazers came back down the floor and Nicolas Batum kicked the ball out to LaMarcus Aldridge who hit his first – and biggest – three of the season with 4.5 seconds left, tying the game back up at 104-104. Dallas forward O.J. Mayo was then called for what turned out to be a very costly charge, and Portland got the ball back.
With 1.5 seconds left on the clock, Portland ran a play that was originally designed to get Nicolas Batum curling for the corner three, but he was quickly guarded by Vince Carter so Wesley Matthews inbounded the ball to Aldridge who turned around and sunk a tough short-range turn-around jumper over Brandon Wright’s outstretched arm.
LaMarcus Aldridge has a thing for hitting big shots against the Mavericks — they should’ve seen it coming.
[NBA]
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