Houston Rockets small forward Carmelo Anthony made his return to Oklahoma City Thursday night, and the veteran scorer received cheers from the Thunder crowd.

Anthony played last season with the Thunder, but it wasn't the right fit on the court. Melo averaged a career-low 16.2 points per game during the regular season and shot only 40.4 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from beyond the arc.

The playoffs were an even bigger struggle for Anthony. In the six-game series loss to the Utah Jazz, Anthony averaged 11.8 points while shooting a woeful 37.5 percent from the field and 21.4 percent from beyond the arc. The Thunder had an offensive rating of 98.6 when Anthony was on the court compared to 116.8 when he was on the bench.

Still, the fans in OKC showed Carmelo Anthony love when he checked into the game.

The Thunder traded Carmelo Anthony to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team deal that netted them point guard Dennis Schröder from the Hawks and Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot from the Philadelphia 76ers. Anthony was bought out by the Hawks and signed a one-year deal worth the veteran's minimum with the Rockets.

Anthony is doing something this season that he didn't do with the Thunder: Coming off the bench. In nine games with Houston, Melo is averaging 14.7 points and shooting 43.6 percent from the floor and 36.2 percent from the 3-point line.