Carmelo Anthony helps LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers avoid 0-3 start
Trailing heading into the fourth quarter Sunday night, the Los Angeles Lakers looked poised to continue a winless start to the season — but they were bailed out by a vintage performance from an all-time NBA great.
No, it wasn't LeBron James, Anthony Davis or Russell Westbrook who donned the Superman cape. It was Carmelo Anthony who rose to the occasion in a 121-118 win against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Anthony finished with a team-high 28 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter.
The 37-year-old fired with ruthless efficiency, too, going 10-for-15 from the field and 6-for-8 from beyond the arc in 27:35 of work. His performance spoiled an outstanding effort from young Grizzlies star Ja Morant, who poured in 40 points — 13 of them in the fourth — to lead all scorers.
However, where the 22-year-old Morant was left to rue missing a game-tying free throw with one second left, Anthony was able to convert his two shots from the charity stripe after collecting the rebound and being sent to the line to ice the game.
In putting on his offensive showcase, Anthony climbed past Moses Malone for ninth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list, surpassing the Hall of Famer's mark of 27,409 career points. It served as a reminder of why Anthony was on the league's 75th anniversary team alongside James, Davis and Westbrook.
Davis finished Sunday with 22 points, James with 19 and Westbrook with 13 to round out the bulk of the scoring against Memphis.
Sunday's point-per-minute performance wasn't a stroll in the park for Anthony, though. He revealed that when he was asked to make a speech commemorating the milestone, he replied that he was too gassed.
He did, however, offer his thoughts to the media.
"I keep saying it’s an honor and blessing to be on that list and pass Moses [Malone] for what he did for the game of basketball," Anthony said. "It’s hard to put it into words. That I’m still here and doing it, that’s what I’m excited about. That I’m here in Year 19 and doing what I’m able to do. I’m still passionate about the game, and I’m still passionate about coming to work and getting better."
The vintage performance from Anthony had Skip Bayless singing the Lakers star's praises on "Undisputed."
It's a minuscule sample for the 2021-22 season, but Anthony is thriving with the Lakers so far. His points per game (17.7) are his most since he averaged 22.4 in his final season with the New York Knicks in 2016-17, and his shooting percentages of 51.4% from the field and 66.7% from distance would be career highs.
Three games into the season, he is proving to be the Lakers' most important bench piece.
Despite not starting, he is third on the team with 53 total points scored, behind James' 78 and Davis' 77.
His contributions become even more evident when playing time is factored in. Per 36 minutes played, Anthony's average of 24.5 points is right there with "The King" (24.6 points) and "The Brow" (25.0 points). Meanwhile, Westbrook, the presumed third member of L.A.'s "Big 3," sits at 12.2 points per 36 minutes.
With Westbrook's acclimatization to the team taking a bit longer, plus the early bench struggles for the Lakers, they are fortunate to have Carmelo on hand, Shannon Sharpe pointed out.
"The last two games, their bench has gotten outplayed," Sharpe said. "They got outplayed opening night by the Golden State Warriors. They got outplayed by the Phoenix Suns. And so [Sunday] night, Melo stepped up. … And it could not have come at a better time because they were struggling again."
It would probably be asking too much to expect Anthony to keep up his current pace for the Lakers, but he has already proven his worth after just three games in the purple and gold.
Without him, they would likely be 0-3 to start the season. And while one win won't define Anthony's year with the team, who knows if being largely responsible for getting them in the win column could lead to bigger and better things?
Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.
