Carmelo Anthony is having an unlikely revival in the bubble and hitting big shots when the Blazers need them most

• Carmelo Anthony is thriving in the NBA bubble and helping the Portland Trail Blazers compete for a playoff spot.
• In seven games, Anthony is averaging 17 points per game on efficient shooting and has made multiple clutch shots and defensive plays in big wins.
• Anthony nearly fell out of the NBA for good in 2018 and 2019, and the basketball world is retracting claims that Anthony was washed up.

After nearly falling out of the NBA for good, Carmelo Anthony is coming up big for the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA bubble.

The 36-year-old Anthony was unceremoniously cut from the Houston Rockets in November 2018 after just 10 games. His contract was traded from team to team for the remainder of the season until finally, it expired. He was left on the free-agent market for months, his career seemingly over, until the Portland Trail Blazers signed him in November of 2019.

Anthony put together a surprisingly productive season for Portland but has taken his game up a notch in the bubble, where the Blazers are scrapping for a playoff seed.

Through seven bubble games, Anthony is averaging 17 points and 7 rebounds per game while shooting 47% from the field, 50% from three, and 85% from the free-throw line on four attempts per game.

Anthony's offensive game has actually aged well because he was built more on quickness and precision rather than raw athleticism. As he's done since entering the NBA in 2003, Anthony is still incredibly smooth and efficient in the midrange area, taking advantage of smaller defenders or a sliver of space.

Carmelo comes through in the clutch

On Tuesday, Anthony scored 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting, helping the Blazers beat the Dallas Mavericks and move into 8th place in the West with one game to play. While Damian Lillard led the charge for the Blazers with an incredible 61 points, Portland needed every one of Anthony's points.

Anthony hit one of the biggest shots of the game, a game-tying three-pointer with 2:27 left.

It's not the first big shot Anthony has hit in the bubble. In seven games, Anthony has played 30 minutes in the "clutch" — defined as the last five minutes of a game, with the score within five points. In those 30 minutes, he's scored 16 points on 61% shooting and 57% from three. The Blazers are plus-18 in those 30 minutes.

On Tuesday, Anthony — never known as a great defender — also played strong defense on Luka Doncic's final possession, moving well laterally to cut off Doncic's drive.

In a win over the Houston Rockets on August 4, Melo also came up big on both ends of the court. Anthony had a big close-out block on a three-pointer, then nailed the game-clinching three-pointer with less than a minute to play.

Apologies to Anthony

Amid his strong play in the bubble, some in the NBA world have issued apologies and retracted declarations that Anthony could no longer play in the league.

One common example is a form to apologize to Anthony.

The "Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz" also put up a poll asking if fans owed Anthony an apology (most said no).

On "Highly Questionable," ESPN's Pablo Torre apologized to Anthony, saying that part of Anthony's revival has been accepting the lesser role that many doubted he would ever embrace.

"I was wrong because I didn't think he would do this, let alone could ... The fact is, the guy is shooting fewer shots per game than he has in his entire life despite playing about 33 minutes per game. This is all stuff that was incomprehensible to me, and I just appreciate Melo not roasting me on Twitter yet, because that was something he absolutely should be doing to everybody," Torre said.

Lillard even said it was "disappointing" that people would doubt Anthony, a future Hall of Famer.

"He's a Hall of Famer," Lillard said after a win over the Rockets in the bubble. "I think it's more disappointing that people are surprised by it. He's a Hall of Famer, like I said, he's a great teammate. That's what we expect from him. We put him in those positions because we expect him to make those shots. We believe he's gonna make those shots. And we brought him here because we knew he would make a difference for our team, and he's been doing that."

• Read more:
• The NBA will soon allow players to bring guests into the bubble, but there are strict rules on who can be invited and how many can attend games
• 4 teams are competing for 2 spots in the NBA's first-ever play-in tournament, and the race is coming down to the wire
• Giannis Antetokounmpo got ejected after head-butting a Wizards player
• The Phoenix Suns surprised players with a video of their family members announcing their names for the starting lineup