Anthony on Blazers’ Early Struggles vs. Hornets, “We Dug Ourselves a Hole”

The visiting Portland Trail Blazers’ 109-101 loss to the Charlotte Hornets featured a 44-point first quarter for the home team. Fueled by a nearly-perfect shooting performance, the Hornets built a solid lead and stood their ground to secure a much-needed victory on Sunday.

After the game, The Oregonian’s Aaron Fentress highlighted Carmelo Anthony’s comments on the Blazers’ awful opening frame.

“It just seemed like everything was going for them,” Anthony said. “They were running their plays, they were making their shots, they were hustling and they were beating us to a lot of loose basketballs out there. We dug ourselves a hole in that first quarter and had to fight our way back.”

Individually, Melo did his best to get the Blazers back into the game in the second half. The 36-year-old forward logged 28 minutes and recorded 24 points on 19 attempts from the field.

Melo and the Blazers will attempt to get back on track against the Clippers on Tuesday. You can read the full story from Fentress at Oregon Live.