Atlanta Hawks: Takeaways From Wild Win Over Knicks

Melo Can Still Score

In case you’ve forgotten, Carmelo Anthony is an elite scorer. He torched every defender not named Paul Millsap on Sunday. Anthony finished with a season-high 45 points on 18-for-36 shooting. He also had six rebounds and four assists. Kent Bazemore and Tim Hardaway Jr. couldn’t stop him at all. It took Mike Budenholzer throwing Paul Millsap at Anthony to slow him down.

Even then, he managed to hit tough shots to keep New York in the game. Anthony spoke to the media after the game about what it meant to keep pushing through exhaustion as the overtime sessions progressed.

"“Those are the overtimes where you’ve got to dig deep,” Anthony said. “You’re exhausted, you have to find something from somewhere. But to not be out there in that last overtime was a little difficult to watch. Especially knowing the flow of the game. That was a moment I wanted to be out there.”"

Anthony fouled out with 12.9 seconds remaining in the second overtime, damaging the Knicks hopes of winning significantly. I’ve done my fair share of criticizing Anthony for his lack of team success and shoddy defense throughout his career, but I’ve got nothing but praise for that performance. There’s no question that he’s one of the best scorers in the league when he’s at his best.

I will be interested to see whether or not he considers waiving his no trade clause as the trade deadline draws closer. The window of his prime is closing rapidly. Being traded to a contender this season gives him a few years to chase a ring until he retires. It would be a shame for a scorer of his caliber to have so few meaningful playoff moments in his career.