Melo 'at peace' after rocky Rockets breakup: 'I kind of got past all of that'

Wednesday night's tilt represented Carmelo Anthony's first game back in Houston since his ill-fated tenure with the Rockets, but the 35-year-old power forward downplayed the emotional stakes of facing the team that decided to part ways with him just 10 games into the 2018-19 season.

"I kind of got past all of that, the time that I was off," Anthony, now a member of the Portland Trail Blazers, said after his team's 117-107 road win, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon. "The time that I did have to kind of think about that situation, and I've done dealt with every emotion that you could think about.

"Trying to figure out why. Questioning myself at the beginning. Working so hard to get past that and kind of be at peace with that."

Anthony's winding path back to NBA action included a salary-dump trade to the Chicago Bulls - who waived him soon thereafter - ahead of last season's trade deadline. After a full offseason passed without the 10-time All-Star receiving a contract, a litany of frontcourt injuries and a weak start to the season brought the Trail Blazers calling in mid-November.

Anthony earned his paycheck Wednesday with one of his better performances of the season. He recorded an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double in 34 minutes of action, managing 7-of-10 shooting from the floor while committing just one turnover.

More importantly for the Trail Blazers, the win improved Portland's record to 18-24, moving Melo and Co. just 1.5 games out of the Western Conference's eighth and final playoff seed.