Carmelo Anthony was one decision away from becoming the hero for his Oklahoma City Thunder during Friday night's 104-101 loss against the San Antonio Spurs.
Anthony hugged a Steven Adams screen and drilled a jumper from the top of the key, nearly tying the game at 102 with 5.6 seconds left, as the Spurs have managed to crawl back from a 23-point hole, stemming from a Thunder fast start to lead 32-15 in the first quarter.
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His toe was ruled to be on the line, making it a two-pointer, as the Thunder now trailed by a point after officials reviewed the play.
“It was tough,” said Anthony, according to Fred Katz of The Norman Transcript. “I was just trying to kind of get a shot up. I wasn’t really looking at where exactly my feet was at,” Anthony, who scored 20 points on 9 of 17 shooting, said. “It was just a matter of, I knew I was behind the line, get as close as I can and get the shot off.”
Anthony's make came only after the Thunder scored only 23 points in each of the last three quarters, being outscored by a fighting Spurs team that battled its way from a big deficit to start the game.
Basketball has at times proven a game of inches, as Anthony's size 14 shoe was just a whisker too big to give the Thunder a tie in regulation and keep their three-game win streak alive.
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