Carmelo Anthony made a 17-foot pull-up jumper on a pass from CJ McCollum with 4.1 seconds left, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the defending champion Toronto Raptors 101-99.
The Raptors led 95-88 with 3:57 left before the Trail Blazers went on a 13-4 run.
The Raptors had the ball in a tie game with 37 seconds left, but Hassan Whiteside blocked Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’s driving layup at the rim. It would have put the Raptors ahead. They had the ball down 2 after a timeout, but Kyle Lowry missed a 30-foot pull-up 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have put them ahead.
During clutch time, the Raptors outscored the Trail Blazers 9-7. Oshae Brissett scored 5 of the Raptors’ 9 on 2 for 4 shooting. In the fourth quarter, Patrick McCaw had 2 of his 3 steals, and the Raptors scored 4 points off them.
Anthony scored a season-high 28 points with 5 3-pointers, and Damian Lillard added 20 points (11 in the fourth quarter) and 9 assists.
For the Raptors, Lowry had 24 points (12 on 4 3-pointers) and 10 assists but shot 7 for 23.
The Raptors forced 11 turnovers, about 5 fewer than usual for this many possessions.