Damian Lillard says he wasn't surprised ONE BIT when Carmelo Anthony hit a clutch dagger to seal Portland's win over Houston on Tuesday ... because the dude is a Hall of Famer!
36-year-old Melo came up HUGE for the Trail Blazers in the final 3 minutes of the game -- blocking P.J. Tucker's 3-point shot ... and then nailing a THREE of his own with less than a minute left in the game. Melo's shot put Portland up by 5 and sealed the victory. The Blazers won 110 to 102.
Melo coming up clutch 👌 pic.twitter.com/dh8vi2Di3j
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) August 5, 2020
After the victory, Lillard praised the hell out of Melo -- and said he's sick of the disrespect surrounding the future HOF'er.
“He’s a Hall of Famer," Lillard said ... "It’s more disappointing that people are surprised by it."
“He’s a Hall of Famer. It’s more disappointing that people are surprised by it. … We expect him to make those shots … no surprises here.”
— ESPN (@espn) August 5, 2020
—Damian Lillard on Melo pic.twitter.com/bQwc7cztmC
"We expect him to make those shots … no surprises here."
Lillard continued to the media after the game ...
"When we got him, everybody had something to say about him: what he's going to do defensively, he's getting older, he's done, where's he going to fit in."
"I find it real funny and disrespectful how people speak on him. He's a Hall of Famer."
FYI, Melo finished the night with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 2 steals in 36 minutes.
The Trail Blazers are 2-1 in their 3 games in the NBA Bubble so far and look like real contenders. They're 1.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the 8th playoff seed in the West.