Carmelo Anthony dropped 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting -- averaging out at 81.8 percent, the best single-game clip of his 17-year career -- as he helped the Portland Trail Blazers to Wednesday's 136-119 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Anthony's debut before the home crowd at Mora Center in Portland, Oregon, complemented the Blazers' 20-point trio of guards Damian Lillard (27) and CJ McCollum (22) with center Hassan Whitesite (21) for 89 points between the four starters.
The fifth game of Anthony's Blazers stint followed Monday's 117-94 win over the Bulls at United Center in Chicago, where he lifted the Blazers (7-12) with his game-high 25 points on 10-of-20 shooting and 4-for-7 clip from three-point range.
"This ain't a damn farewell tour," Anthony told Shams Charania of The Athletic. "My love for the game don't stop. I don't know where this 'farewell tour' thing came from. I've never talked about a farewell tour."
Through five starts with Anthony, the Blazers are 2-3 as the former Knicks star from 2011-17 averages 16.6 points on 45.3-percent shooting and a 37.5-percent mark on triples in 29.3 minutes per game.
"I know what I can do and I believe in myself," Anthony told Charania. "When a farewell tour comes, it comes. That's not something I think about. I'm not thinking about retiring right now. I had (thought about it) during this past stretch over the summer. But ain't no retiring in my mind. I believe in what I have left."
A seven-time All-Star as a Knick, Anthony's numbers started to decline after he led the league in scoring with his 28.7 points per game on the 2012-13 season.
Unsuccessful stints with the Thunder (2017-18) and Houston Rockets (2018-19) followed before Anthony got his latest chance as a Blazer, where he has been welcomed openly in Portland.
Anthony and the Blazers look to build off the consecutive wins with Friday's 10 p.m. ET home game against the Bulls.
"I think guys are just starting to feel a little bit more relaxed and at ease," Anthony said, according to the Associated Press, after Wednesday's game. "When I first got here last week, and met those guys in New Orleans (with 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting in Nov. 19's 115-104 loss), I think it was the hype of the excitement of me coming to the team, guys not really knowing how this was going play out, how this was going to fit in, how I was going to fit in."
