Melo was clutch late in the game and Blazers escaped from Toronto with the victory

Carmelo Anthony made a clutch shot with 3.3 seconds left in the clock and the Portland Trail Blazers beat 101–99 Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night. This shot put Anthony ahead of other players in terms of making shots in the last seconds or overtime, as this was his 17th go-ahead field goal and with this one he has four more than any other player since 2003–04.

Anthony finished the game with 28 points (10/17 FG, 5/8 3s, 3/3 FT, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals), Damian Lillard had 20 points (5/11 FG, 4/7 3s, 6/6 FT, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 blocks) and Hassan Whiteside added 14 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and seven blocks. Blazers are 5–3 when Anthony scores 20+ points.

“A guy with his type of ability, it’s just a matter of opportunity,” Damian Lillard said. “He had one guy guarding him, and he got to his spot. Once he got to his spot and I saw him raising up, I thought it was going in.”

“I was really proud of the way our team competed tonight, particularly in the fourth quarter,” Blazers head coach Terry Stotts said. “At the end of the season, you look back on different games, and this could very well be a game that we look back on that turned the tide.”

Kyle Lowry led the Raptors with 24 points and Serge Ibaka had 17 points for the Raptors who played without Fred VanVleet, who sat out due to a strained right hamstring along with other starters like Norman Powell (left shoulder), Marc Gasol (left hamstring) and Pascal Siakam (groin).

Oshae Brissett scored a career-high 12 points for Toronto, and Chris Boucher had 12 points for Toronto, who have won five out their last ten games and sit fourth with record 24–13 which is not bad if we take under consideration all the injuries that they have.