After a hectic last couple of weeks, Carmelo Anthony had his moment with a game-winning jumper over the Philadelphia 76ers Saturday night.
Carmelo Anthony has had to put up with quite a lot over the last few years. Though it was his decision to remain with the New York Knicks in free agency back in 2014, he was unfairly blasted for signing a lucrative contract that allowed him and his family to keep living in a city where they were happy.
While people criticized his commitment to winning, he’s also had to deal with the constant, unfair comparisons to LeBron James, inaccurate labels of being “overrated” and an ever-increasing focus on his defensive flaws and his lack of playoff success.
This season, all those criticisms have come to a head with his own team president joining in and the Knicks doing everything they could to run him out of the Big Apple.
Melo is still in a Knicks jersey following the 2017 NBA Trade Deadline, but in spite of being treated so poorly by a flawed organization he chose to remain loyal to, he still manages to rise to the occasion.
Saturday night, Anthony provided another reminder that although he may never win a title as the lead superstar, we will miss this 32-year-old when his time in the NBA is done.
With the Knicks trailing the Philadelphia 76ers 109-108 on the final possession of the game, Melo got the ball on the elbow and went to work. The result was a game-winning jumper that put New York ahead with 0.3 seconds left.
Carmelo Anthony. Game winner. #Knicks pic.twitter.com/jyWYIIASQH
— NBA.com (@NBAcom) February 26, 2017
Melo finished the game with 37 points and six rebounds, shooting 15-of-25 from the field.
The Knicks should be tanking at this point, but as much as a win over Philly — the team that’s not 1.5 games behind New York in the standings — hurts in that regard, it was still nice to see Anthony have that kind of redemptive moment after the last few weeks.
That shot also avenged a buzzer-beating loss to T.J. McConnell and the Sixers from earlier in the season.
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Melo will never cement himself as one of the NBA’s elite legends, but he’s still an all-time great, one of the best scorers the game has ever seen and a surefire Hall of Famer who will hopefully be appreciated one day.