Carmelo Anthony not only moved up to ninth place in the all-time scoring list, but was also the match winner for the Los Angeles Lakers against Memphis. There is praise from all sides. On the other hand, the ankle of LeBron James is worrying again.
Carmelo Anthony had scored 25 points in his first two games for the Los Angeles Lakers. In Game 3, the veteran surpassed this mark in just 27 minutes with 28 points – and the Lakers needed every single one of them against the scratchy Memphis Grizzlies (121: 118) to finally celebrate their first win of the season.
“Carmelo Anthony was terrific today,” said Lakers coach Frank Vogel rightly. The 37-year-old was not only the top scorer of his team, but also posted the next milestone in his illustrious career. Melo had only used 14 counters before the game, to oust Moses Malone from 9th place on the all-time scoring list, in the third section the time had come.
“He didn’t crawl to this milestone, he pulverized him. I’m very happy for him and so far he has settled well into our group.” Vogel also emphasized that Melo would still play at a high level and would definitely help the team.
Los Angeles Lakers: Anthony brings first win of the season
Anthony was especially valuable as a shooter that evening, six of his eight threes found their way through the trap, and in the end the forward was also on the field in crunchtime. “I can still play and that’s what drives me,” said Anthony of his milestone. “I’m in my 19th year and I still feel the fire to go to work every day and get better.”
At the end of the day, however, the results are decisive and this was against Memphis. “We needed a win and we did it. All in all, it was an all-round successful evening for me.”
It wasn’t sovereign, but soon no one will remember it. Thanks to Ja Morant (40 points, 10 assists) and excellent work on the boards (18 offensive rebounds, 32 second chance points), the Grizzlies kept up for a long time, but in the final phase the mistakes increased, from which the Lakers benefited.
Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron James struck again
However, there was a small downer for the Lakers. LeBron James went down in the second quarterwhen Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane fell on the right leg of the four-time MVP. The 36-year-old went to the ground, contorted with pain, but quickly returned. The King reeled off over 40 minutes and put on 19 counters as well as 6 rebounds and assists.
After the game, James revealed that it was the right ankle again that was causing him problems, the ankle that made him watch in the spring. LeBron stated that he continued to feel pain and could not guarantee that he would show up again in San Antonio (from 2:30 am) on Wednesday night.
Los Angeles Lakers: The upcoming games
| date | time | opponent | location |
| October 27 | 2.30 a.m. | San antonio spurs | A |
| 28th of October | 2 O ‘clock | Oklahoma City Thunder | A |
| 30th of October | 4.30 a.m. | Cleveland Cavaliers | H |
| 1. November | 3.30 a.m. | Houston Rockets | H |
| 3. November | 3.30 a.m. | Houston Rockets | H |
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