Anthony hits 25,000-point milestone
Swollen knee sidelines Wizards’ Wall
(Towson Catholic) made a free throw for his 25,000th point, and although there was no real reaction from the crowd in Detroit, the Oklahoma City star slapped hands with teammates and raised his right hand with pride.
“It’s a special moment,” Anthony said. “To kind of know what it took to get to this point and the amount of work that was put in to get to this point, the teammates that I’ve played with over the years, and for me to still be at a point in my career where I still have a lot more to go.”
Anthony became the 21st NBA player to reach the 25,000-point mark, and added 31 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds to lift the surging Thunder to a 121-108 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night. Although it was a night of triumph for Anthony, Oklahoma City lost guard
to what looked like a serious leg injury in the third quarter.
Anthony scored his 25,000th point with 8:30 left in the third. He would add four more points and finish the game with 21. who was named to the All-Star team Saturday, scored 26 points, and Westbrook was impressive throughout.
“That’s a really good basketball team, and when those three get rolling, it is hard to stop them,” Detroit’s said. “We had a chance going into the second half, but we were stagnant against a really good defense, and then we couldn’t get a stop, so we were always taking the ball out of the net.”
Anthony’s milestone moment was part of a 15-0 run for the Thunder at the start of the second half that pushed their lead to 27, but Roberson was taken off on a stretcher later in the third after landing hard on the court. His left leg seemed to give way as he was beginning to jump for an alley-oop, and he sailed through the air and appeared to land on his tailbone or lower back.
Coach said it’s a patellar tendon injury, and the Thunder would find out more after returning to Oklahoma. The scary injury put a damper on Oklahoma City’s seventh straight victory. Wall sidelined for Wizards win: matched his season high with 23 points and Washington used balanced scoring and strong 3-point shooting to overcome the absence of in the Wizards' 129-104 runaway victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
Wall, selected to his fifth All-Star team as a reserve Tuesday, did not play due to a recurrence of soreness and swelling in his left knee. He missed nine games earlier in the season with soreness and swelling in the knee.
The Wizards, who had lost two straight and four of five, dominated the Hawks. Washington pulled away with a strong start to the second quarter and never trailed. Cousins injury: The New Orleans Pelicans held the first practice of their new, more challenging reality Saturday — less than 24 hours after losing All-Star center for the rest of the season because of his Achilles tear.
The question now is: What happens to a team that has won seven of eight and was coalescing around its somewhat unconventional lineup featuring Cousins and fellow All-Star big man
“It changes for everyone, but that doesn’t mean we can’t accomplish what we set out to do,” coach said after practice. “And that’s to be a playoff team.”