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In the midst of some criticism that I've offered for Melo in the past 2 days, I would be amiss if I didn't highlight some of the great things he's achieved on an NBA court through the years. Melo is about as clutch as anyone in NBA history, with 23 game-winning shots scored over 15 seasons in the league.
At one point, there was a legitimate debate between fans as to whether Melo or Kobe was the better clutch player before Kobe hit 7 gamewinners in the same season to establish his supremacy in clutch time convincingly. As it is, Melo is no slouch at it either, with a jump shot so pure that he's the only player in NBA history to tally a 50-point game without a single point scored inside the paint.
Let's take a look at his 5 biggest clutch moments:
#5 Game winner against the Pacers, 10th April 2011
Foot injuries had already begun affecting Amar'e by this time, and he sat this game out - putting the onus on Melo to give the Knicks scoring. With the Knicks trailing by one against the troublesome Indiana Pacers Sunday night at the Conseco Fieldhouse, Anthony was the hero again, adding another feather to his cap of clutch shots built through a career of doing the same stuff.
With 4.9 seconds left, Anthony nailed a shot over Indiana's Danny Granger, giving the Knicks a 110-109 advantage that they did not relinquish in the time that remained. Anthony led all scorers with 34 points, and his game-winning shot made him 19-for-39 in his career on shots that tie the game or give his team the lead in the final 10 seconds of regulation or overtime.
#4 First gamer for the Knicks, 10th March 2011
3 weeks after forcing a trade to the Knicks, Melo was back to doing what he does best - take over games with his scoring touch during clutch moments. The 2010-11 version of the Memphis Grizzlies was a pretty dominant defensive team from top to bottom - and their faceoff was billed as a showdown between Amar'e and Randolph in the post.
It was Anthony, however, who nailed the tough shot following one dribble when being guarded by Tony Allen down at the left baseline, from about 20 feet out. With the scores tied at 108 and just 3 seconds left in the game, he pulled out a hesitation move, made his trademark jab step to his left and rose over the shorter Allen to make a game-winning shot.
While he's made countless such shots over the course of his career, the fact that this one came against Tony Allen, who was the best perimeter defender in the league then, pushes it into our top 5.
#3 Game winner over LeBron James, 18th February 2010
4 days after the 2010 All Star Game, when LeBron and Melo dueled each other to the tune of 52 points, they went at it again with their usual teams. Much like the All Star Game, this match was also a high-level contest, going into overtime.
The play in question started with about 6 seconds left in the game and the scores tied at 116 each. Melo received a pass from Chauncey Billups 21 feet out from the basket at the left wing, with LeBron guarding him. In true Melo fashion, he jab-stepped LeBron away from his body and nailed the tough jumper in The King's face with 1.9 seconds left in the game.
The duo had combined for 81 points before this juncture, as Melo finished with 40 points and the W as LeBron wound up with 43 of his own by the end of the game.
#2 2 clutch 3-pointers to tie and then win the game vs Bulls, 8th April 2012
The 2011-12 season is up there among Anthony's 3 best seasons in the league. He took over a Knicks team that had Amar'e Stoudemire missing time due to foot injuries and not in the best health, guiding them to a 7th seeded finish in the regular season. Among the moments that secured a playoff berth for them was this game against the Chicago Bulls at the Madison Square Garden.
With 11 seconds left in regulation time, Anthony shot a 3-pointer from the right wing over Joakim Noah to tie the scores at 91 points apiece. He then made another clutch shot over Luol Deng from the same spot with 8.2 seconds left in overtime to lift the Knicks to a 100-99 lead, and the eventual W on the night. It was one hell of a game for sure.
#1 Dagger against Miami Heat, 7th May 2012
This first round series was on pace to be one of the most lopsided in NBA history through three games, but Game 4 had the two teams separated by 4 points at most through the entire fourth quarter. The crowd at Madison Square Garden grew louder with every play that moved the Knicks closer to their first playoff win in 11 years.
Anthony made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 54.5 seconds left as the Knicks overcame another serious injury to win a playoff game for the first time since beating Toronto on April 29, 2001, in Game 3 of a best-of-five series.
