Damian Lillard against LaMarcus Aldridge: that’s the matchup shown in the thumbnail for these October 20, 2018 highlights. Aldridge was back in Portland with the Spurs, facing the franchise where he spent his first nine NBA seasons. And this time, it was Dame and the Blazers who got the last laugh.
Historical update: Dame and the Blazers beat Aldridge’s Spurs
Updated November 2026: Portland beat San Antonio 121–108 at the Moda Center on October 20, 2018, improving to 2–0 after its opening-night victory over the Lakers. The game was tied 22–22 after one quarter, but the Blazers outscored the Spurs 37–28 in the second and 38–32 in the third to build a 97–82 lead going into the fourth. They’d done enough damage to finish the job.
Damian Lillard was terrific: 29 points and nine assists, shooting 9-for-15 from the field, 3-for-6 from three and a perfect 8-for-8 at the line. CJ McCollum added 24 points, hitting four threes. After all the talk about Portland possibly taking a step backward, a 2–0 start with wins over LeBron’s Lakers and Aldridge’s Spurs wasn’t a bad response.
And how did LaMarcus do against his old team? He finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists on 6-for-13 shooting. DeMar DeRozan, in his first season with San Antonio after the Kawhi Leonard trade, led the Spurs with 28 points and nine assists. He was much more of a problem for Portland’s defense that night than Aldridge was.
The Lillard–Aldridge thumbnail is also a reminder of how much Portland had changed since Aldridge left for San Antonio in 2015. Aldridge had been the Blazers’ leading star for years; by October 2018, Lillard was firmly the face of the franchise. There was plenty of history between the two, but on this particular night, Dame had the better game.
Looking back, the victory was an early chapter in a memorable 53–29 season that ended in the Western Conference Finals. If you missed the previous game, revisit our opening-night win over the Lakers. For the exact numbers from this one, see the official NBA box score.