Carmelo Anthony hit a game-deciding basket to take down the Toronto Raptors last night at the Scotiabank Arena. His Portland Trail Blazers defeated the hosts 101-99 and showed some signs of life after a stretch of bad results.
“Whenever you get a chance to have a moment like that, you’ve got to take advantage of it. Throughout my career, I’ve always been a guy who will take those shots. I’ve made a ton of them and missed a lot of them as well,” said Melo after the match.
He would end the night with a game-high 28 points and seven boards, shooting 10 of 17 from the field, 5 from 8 downtown.
The Raptors were handicapped again, and this time it wasn’t only because Siakam, Gasol and Powell didn’t play, but also because of Fred Van Vleet’s absence. Raptors’ guard strained his right hamstring and had to skip this one. That means four out of five Raptors’ stars are out.
It is an interesting thing that Melo’s shot brought only the second lead of the game for the Blazers, as hosts had an edge throughout the entire match. They were up 85-73 with 8:20 to go, but couldn’t endure the last push of the visitors from Oregon, who had a lethal three-point barrage in the final period.
“Lack of concentration,” Kyle Lowry said. “They hit six threes in the fourth quarter. We missed some shots. They made a few shots. I think we let them get a little too loose in the fourth quarter.”
Damian Lillard would tie the game at 99-all with 37.5 seconds left, with e deep three. However, according to the Raptors’ head coach Nick Nurse, he did that after an illegal screen of Portland’s big man Hassan Whiteside.
“It was clearly, clearly, an offensive foul on Whiteside that wiped us out to tie the game,” Nurse said.
In the last moments, Lowry tried to bring the win, but his shot bounced off the rim and the fans had to go home disappointed. They were expecting to see another short-handed win of their favorites, but this time, they couldn’t go against the odds.
Lowry ended the night with a double-double, 24 points, and 10 assists in 38 minutes on the floor. He was 4 of 16 for three, 7 of 23 overall. Serge Ibaka also had a double-double with 17 points and 11 boards, and no other started had a double-digit number of points. Chris Boucher scored 12 of the bench with 9 rebounds, and Oshae Brissett had the same number of points with six boards. Despite the domination on the glass 57-45, the hosts let this one slip away from them.
Besides Anthony, Lillard had 20 points for the Trail Blazers, Whiteside 14 and 16 boards, while Anfernee Simons scored 12 off the bench. CJ McCollum was experiencing a shooting slump, missing all six threes and making just 5 of his 19 shots from the field for 10 points.
The Blazers (16-22) have one more game on the road before going back home in Minneapolis against the Timberwolves. Meanwhile, the Raptors (24-13) are traveling to Charlotte to meet Hornets, and after that, come back home to play against the Spurs.
