Carmelo Anthony Scores 14 Points in Blazers’ Rout Against Pelicans, 115-104

Carmelo Anthony came back on the court after more than one year. Melo debuted for the Portland Trail Blazers in tonight’s contest against the New Orleans Pelicans, which his new team lost, 115-104.

The No.3 pick from the 2003 NBA draft was a part of the Blazers’ starting five, and dropped 10 points in 24 minutes, along with 4 rebounds, and 5 turnovers. Melo was 4 for 14 from the field and hit two threes in three attempts.

“It felt great to just be back into the flow of the game,” said Antony following the match. “Be back on the court, be back to where I think I belong. Just being out there with the guys again. I think more so of a routine, team buzz, team lunch, being around the guys, the locker room.”

Terry Stotts was pleased with the way one of the biggest stars of the league performed after a big pause he had.

“Yeah, I thought he was good,” Portland’s coach said. “I thought for having a morning shootaround, it was pretty good.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf_t6s-zAGk

Melo’s unsuccessful adventures with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets cast a shadow on all of his previous achievements. With the Rockets, the former Denver Nuggets and the New York Knicks was supposed to be a guy whose arrival will bring the title to Houston. However, after only 12 games into the previous season, the two parties decided to split ways.

His role with the Trail Blazers is a bit different. Melo comes to Oregon as the possible savior. Portland was supposed to be a contender for the top places in the Western Conference, yet they struggle with performances at the start of the campaign.

That was obvious against New Orleans, who pulled away in the third period, creating a 13-point lead, 83-70, and never looking back again. It was mostly because of the Italian international, Nicolo Melli who scored 12 points in that sequence, completely ripping apart Blazers’ defense.

Melli wouldn’t just score points, but also made assists and created positions for other teammates to score or to endanger Portland’s rim. Former Fenerbahce player ended the night with 14 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals all that in 27 minutes.

Apart from the third period, the rest three were pretty close, with neither of the sides having some big runs or creating a lead. The result at the halftime was 54-53 for the guests, but the excellent interval in the third launched the Pelicans towards another win of the season.

There was also one more thing that made things difficult for the Blazers. Damian Lillard was unavailable for this event, due to back spasms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjJkOhirRDk

The leading scorer for Stotts’ team in this one was CJ McCollum, with 22 points, shooting 9 for 22 from the field. He also had 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. Hassan Whiteside posted a double-double with 14 boards and points each, while Anfernee Simons had 13 points. Nassir Little had 12 buckets and 11 boards off the bench.

Portland was 16 of 29 from downtown and they still managed to lose this one.

On the other side, Brandon Ingram was back from his knee soreness and was looking pretty good. The lengthy forward dropped 21 points, had 7 boards, and 5 assists. The team-high was scored by Jrue Holiday, who ended the contest with 22 points and 10 dimes, 10 for 18 from the field.

JJ Redick added 18 points, while Kenrich Williams scored 8 buckets and grabbed 14 boards.

Pelicans are now 5-9 and are heading for a three-game tour through the West, meeting the Suns, Jazz, and the Clippers in the next few days.

The Trail Blazers, 5-10, also have three next games away from home. The first is against the Milwaukee Bucks in Wisconsin, then against the Cavaliers, and eventually in the Windy City versus the Bulls.