LaMarcus Aldridge picked a good time to have a career night

Aldridge scored a career-high 40 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Trail Blazers closed with a rush to beat San Antonio 99-86 Tuesday night at the Rose Garden.

On the opposing bench was Gregg Popovich, coach of the Western Conference team in the NBA All-Star Game Feb. 20 at Los Angeles. Coaches must submit their ballots for the seven reserves for the West team by Thursday morning. It’s safe to say Aldridge passed the late audition.

“He had a decent game, didn’t he?” Popovich said. “We held him to 40 or 35. I stopped counting after awhile ... he had a great game.”

Aldridge was defended part of the time by perennial All-Star Tim Duncan, who was asked afterward for his endorsement.

“Absolutely, I’d vote for him,” Duncan said. “He’s a forward, right? Yeah, I’d vote for him.”

The game was about more than Aldridge’s All-Star candidacy, of course.

It was about the Blazers (26-22) ending a two-game losing streak and beating the team with the league’s best record (now 40-8) without injured center Marcus Camby.

Biggest win of the season?

“It has to be,” Aldridge nodded. “This is the best team in the league. This is big for us, coming off two losses.”