LaMarcus Aldridge rejects Russell Westbrook at the rim for the win

LaMarcus Aldridge denied Russell Westbrook a chance to win the game and secured the Spurs a win.

LaMarcus Aldridge left Portland a couple years ago to sign with the Spurs. He wanted to be on a contender and he knew there was no better place to do that than the always consistent San Antonio. Last season, Aldridge’s role took a backseat to all-time greats like Tim Duncan, but this year he’s had to step up in big situations as a player the Spurs rely on.

Tonight, against the Thunder, was one of those situations for Aldridge. San Antonio and Oklahoma City fought back and forth for much of the fourth quarter. Finally, it came down to the end and the Spurs were up one. The Thunder did what they always do in this situation: Give the ball to Russell Westbrook and let him bring them home. Except Friday night, Aldridge wasn’t having any of that.

Aldridge never had to worry about where the ball was going to be and where Westbtrook was going. Westbrook is one of those players that everybody on the floor knows what he’s going to do and yet it’s still impossible to stop him from doing it most of the time.

However, Aldridge had a major size and positioning advantage on Westbrook in this situation and with time winding down he knew that there was no chance of the shot getting dumped off. All he had to do was put his hands up in the air and wait for Westbrook to come flying in before making his move.

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In an almost poetic kind of way, after Aldridge rejected Westbrook’s shot, Kawhi Leonard picked it up and ran the other direction for an And-1. One MVP fails to convert while the other ices the game away. Leonard might have iced it with his layup, but Aldridge won it with the block.