The Oklahoma City Thunder went on a late run on Wednesday night to stave off elimination against the Utah Jazz, and they did much of their damage with Carmelo Anthony riding the bench. Anthony clearly wasn’t happy about it at the time, but it’s tough to argue with the result.
At one point, Anthony was seen arguing with assistant coach Maurice Cheeks on the bench. He admitted after the game that he was asking to be put back in, but Carmelo also said he will not be upset if he sees a decrease in minutes in Game 6 or Game 7 (if necessary).
Carmelo Anthony explaining his argument with Thunder assistant Maurice Cheeks while on the bench: “My competitive nature just took over at that point, wanting to be a part of that atmosphere.” pic.twitter.com/tkPyKcNIgB
— Erik Horne (@ErikHorneOK) April 26, 2018
“I think it’s a read on the game. If the guys have it going out there, there’s no need for me to be upset about not being in there,” he said. “Yeah, of course I want to be and be a part of it, but in Game 6 if they have it going I’ll understand. Hopefully we won’t be in this situation again.”
Anthony played just 25 minutes on Wednesday after playing 37, 38, 31 and 36 in the first four games. He sat out a good portion of the fourth quarter, and the Thunder outscored the Jazz 29-21 over the final 12 minutes to secure a 107-99 victory. If OKC plays better with Anthony on the floor in Game 6, he won’t have anything to worry about.
