LOS ANGELES — Carmelo Anthony said the best part about passing Moses Malone for No. 9 on the all-time scoring list in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 121-118 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday is the level he’s been able to sustain nearly two decades into his NBA career.
“I’m still here doing it,” Anthony said after scoring 18 of his team-high 28 points in the second half to seal the victory. “I think that’s what I’m honestly excited about. I’m here in year 19 still doing what I’m able to do. Still passionate about the game. Still passionate about coming to work every day and getting better. And what a better night to reach ninth than with a win, the way that we needed a win tonight.”
Anthony came into the night needing 15 points to leapfrog Malone’s 27,409 career total. He got going early, scoring five points in the first quarter, followed by another five in the second, before really finding a rhythm in the third.
He hit back-to-back 3s in a 48-second span, turning a two-point deficit into a two-point lead after the flurry, with his wing triple with 3:20 remaining in the quarter lifting him past the 13-time All-Star and 2001 Hall of Fame inductee Malone.
“He didn’t crawl up to that milestone,” said Lakers coach Frank Vogel. “He blew the doors off of it.”
Anthony continued to pour it on in the fourth, scoring 12 more in the final period. He iced the game by making two free throws with 1.9 seconds remaining to secure L.A.’s first win of its new campaign after an 0-6 preseason followed by an 0-2 start to the regular season.
LeBron James’ relationship with Anthony dates back to when he was 16 years old and Anthony was 17 when they met for the first time. “I came back and told my guys I just seen the best player I ever seen to that point,” James recalled Sunday.
The two have remained close, and after countless games together for the U.S. Olympic Team and making the same All-Star rosters, they are playing on the same NBA team for the first time this season.
“Usually when some…
Source : espn
