Suiting up at home after a couple of days off, the Portland Trail Blazers looked to get back on track having lost four in a row.
They did just that and in record-breaking fashion, knocking down a franchise record 24 3-pointers en route to a comfortable 123-111 win.
They separated themselves from the Charlotte Hornets, who were playing on the second night of a back-to-back, by restricting them to just 24 points in the third quarter and then, catching fire from deep by nailing nine of their 24 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
Six Blazers finished in double figures as they nailed their 3-pointers at a spectacular clip of 52.2 percent (24-46) while also recording a season-high 12 steals.
Carmelo Anthony's season-high tallies
In 32 minutes, Anthony scored a team-high 29 points, 18 of which came from beyond the arc. His 29 points, six 3-pointers, and five steals are all season-high tallies. In fact, the steals are just one shy of his career-high.
He got hot late in this game, scoring 17 of the team's 31 fourth-quarter points as he recorded his first career game with at least five 3-pointers and five steals.
Carmelo Anthony (29 PTS) knocks down the @trailblazers 24th triple, setting a new franchise record for threes made! pic.twitter.com/9eMT4I8bRY
— NBA (@NBA) March 2, 2021
With each game, the 17-year-veteran seems to be getting more and more comfortable in Portland. Time and again this season, he's risen to the occasion and has been a huge part of the team's success since their two key starters in CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic have been out with injuries in mid-January.
Since being shorthanded, this is Anthony's eighth 20-point outing off the bench in 19 games.
Other key contributors in the win were stat-sheet stuffers in Damian Lillard (23 points, 10 assists, four rebounds, three steals) and Robert Covington (21 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocks).
Dame deep triple.
— NBA (@NBA) March 2, 2021
Dame quick dish.@trailblazers in front on NBA TV pic.twitter.com/u747D4doJR
The trio of Anthony, Lillard (6) and Covington (5) combined for 17 of the team's 24 3-pointers.
LaMelo Ball dazzles again!
The Hornets fell behind in the second half and couldn't recover but their rookie LaMelo Ball still had a standout game.
In 32 minutes of action, he finished with 30 points, eight assists, six rebounds, and four steals while shooting 10-of-18 from the field, and 5-of-7 from beyond the arc.
Those numbers made him one of only four Hornets rookie ever to record at least 30-5-5.
The spin & touch on that LaMelo pass! 😱 pic.twitter.com/beki2S2x53
— NBA (@NBA) March 2, 2021
Since taking over the starting spot, in 14 games, he's averaging 20.8 points, 6.8 assists, and 6.1 rebounds on nearly 46.0% shooting from the field, and 43.0% from beyond the arc.
In this one, he was one of four Hornets to finish in double figures as they played shorthanded, missing key rotation players in Gordon Hayward, Devonte Graham, and Cody Zeller.
Road ahead
The Trail Blazers play two more games at home before the All-Star break, one against the Golden State Warriors in a couple of days followed by the Sacramento Kings 24 hours that.
On the other hand, the Hornets wrap-up their six-game road trip in Minnesota in a couple of days.
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