The Chesapeake Energy Arena crowd rose as Carmelo Anthony emerged from the scrum under the Thunder’s defensive basket. The NBA’s 19th leading scorer All-Time pushed it up the floor and lined up a three-pointer. He was just 3-of-12 at the time, but with just 3 seconds left on the clock, all 18,203 saw Anthony’s jumper arcing directly towards the heart of the basket. It hit back iron, and the Thunder fell to the Portland Trail Blazers 108-105.
“I got a good look at that shot. Missed it,” Anthony said. “Can’t ask for a better look than that.”
The final result came down to a trio of factors, well beyond Anthony’s miss, or his two misses from three-point range three-and-a-half minutes beforehand.