Hooped Up

One bad night may have overshadowed all the good Carmelo Anthony has done this season.

The NBA’s leading scorer was not among the seven reserves announced Thursday night for the Western Conference team that will play in the NBA all-star game.

Denver teammate Allen Iverson was chosen, extending his streak of consecutive all-star appearances to eight. He started the last seven games while playing for Philadelphia. Anthony, who is averaging 31.3 points but missed 15 games while suspended for his role in the brawl at Madison Square Garden, was the most obvious omission.

Earlier Thursday, Anthony said he hoped his suspension wouldn’t prevent him from earning his first all-star spot.

“I hope no one holds that over my head over anything,” he said. “Things happen. One incident like that is held over one person’s head, life ain’t fair.

“I did my punishment. I could’ve easily kept my name out there by appealing it and doing other stuff about it, but I just did my 15 games suspension and hopefully put that behind us.”

Toronto Star