In their first trips back to San Antonio, Patty Mills and LaMarcus Alridge were all smiles by the end. The pair helped the Nets come away with a 117-102 win and were give a heartfelt reception by the Spurs faithful on hand for Friday’s game.
The two were honored with a video tribute on the AT&T Center video board and an ovation from the fans inside the building. Mills played nearly a decade for the Spurs and won a title with them in 2014, and Aldridge played six seasons in San Antonio.
#SpursFamily forever ??
Welcome back to San Antonio, @aldridge_12 and @Patty_Mills! pic.twitter.com/a25v6EfgTu
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 22, 2022
“Ah man, I was touched,” Aldridge said after the win. “It’s always nice to see what you achieved and those moments that were special to me and this organization. When I left Portland it was a bitter ending, so it was nice to have it here. When I came here I was just coming to win, coming to have fun, just to be a part of something special, so it was cool for me see that.”
Before the start of the game, Mills went down the Spurs bench to greet and hug his former teammates and coaches. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich jokingly refused to hug Mills before giving in.
“It was cool that we get to share the moment together because obviously, we both were here for some time,” Mills said. “So it was cool and unique for us to be able to share the moment together. So it was really cool to share the moment.”
Aldridge finished the night with 16 points and 7 assists in 22 minutes off the bench for Brooklyn on Friday. Mills had nine points of his own and shot 4-for-11 from the field and 1-for-5 from three-point range in the Nets win over his former team.
The Nets will finish a four-game road trip on Sunday in Minnesota against the Timberwolves.
