Carmelo Anthony is now ninth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list after passing Moses Malone midway through the third quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 121-118 win against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday. He reached 27,410 points — one more than Malone — on a pull-up 3-pointer.
Anthony paced the Lakers with 28 points, including 6 of 8 shooting from 3-point range. Grizzles guard Ja Morant had a chance to tie the game with 2.5 seconds left after being fouled on a 3-point attempt, but he missed the final free throw after connecting on the first two.
LeBron James briefly went down with an injury scare when Memphis guard Desmond Bane fell into his right leg in the second quarter. James stayed on the floor and grabbed at his leg, but eventually got up under his own power after being attended to by members of the Lakers training staff and stayed in the game. James finished with 19 points, six rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks.
Anthony signed with the Lakers this offseason on a one-year deal. The forward — who has also played for the Nuggets, Knicks, Thunder, Rockets and Blazers — is in his 19th season in the NBA.
Anthony entered Sunday averaging 12.5 points and 4.5 rebounds this season. Next on the NBA's all-time scoring list is Shaquille O'Neal in eighth with 28,596 career points.
(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)
How surprising was Carmelo’s performance?
Bill Oram, Lakers beat writer: I’d hesitate to say “surprising.” This is, after all, the newly christened ninth best scorer in NBA history. Carmelo had knocked down six of his first 10 3s through two games, and after making 6-of-8 on Sunday he’s shooting an impressive 66 percent on 3s this season. That, obviously, will eventually come down. But it’s fortunate for the Lakers that the performance came when it did. The Lakers were in dire need of one of their new additions stepping up from 3 and with injuries to Kendrick Nunn, Trevor Ariza and Wayne Ellington, there weren’t many options. Anthony hit a nice milestone at an important moment.
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What the Lakers did right vs. Memphis
Oram: They defended and made 3s. They also found ways to utilize Russell Westbrook off the ball, using him as a screener in some pick-and-roll with LeBron down the stretch, something Westbrook has rarely done in his career. The Lakers also got lucky. Morant missed the tying free throw in the waning moments and the Lakers hit all of theirs. They were badly outrebounded (minus-13 on the glass) and needed a turn-back-the-clock performance from Anthony. But all those pieces came together on a night the Lakers desperately needed a win. If it had gone the other way, the heat of an 0-3 start would have been boiling. Instead, that pressure has been relieved for now.