Carmelo Anthony 'At Peace' With End of Rockets Tenure

The Rockets parted ways with Anthony after just ten games in Houston in 2018-19.

Carmelo Anthony's 18-point effort against the Rockets certainly could have counted as a revenge game on Wednesday night, but the 10-time All-Star dismissed the idea when speaking with the media in Houston postgame. 

Anthony played just 10 games with the Rockets in 2018-19 before parting ways with the organization in November 2018. It look Anthony 12 months to get back into the NBA before signing with Portland. He shined in his return to the Toyota Center on Wednesday.

“I kind of got past all of that in the time that I was off, the time that I did have to kind of think about that situation,” Anthony told the media. “I’ve dealt with every emotion that you can think about, trying to figure out why, questioning myself at the beginning, working so hard to get past that and be at peace with that.”

It was a shaky ten game stretch for Anthony in Houston. He averaged a career-low 13.4 points per game, shooting just 40.5% from the field and 32.8% from three. Anthony is making 39.6% of triples this season, the second-best mark of his career.

Anthony channeled his All-Star form on Wednesday night. He needed just 10 shots to score 18 points, adding 12 rebounds in Portland's victory. The 2012-13 scoring champion showed off his full offensive arsenal against Houston, banging home turnaround jumpers on the baseline and in the paint. Anthony certainly turned back the clock against his former team. 

Carmelo Anthony, professional scorer. 11 points on 4-4 shooting. pic.twitter.com/JcKab7Ompi

— Michael Shapiro (@mshap2) January 16, 2020

The Rockets dropped their second straight game on Wednesday, falling to 26–14 in 2019-20. They'll look to regroup on Saturday as they host the Lakers. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT.