Carmelo Anthony To Miss Second Straight Game With Sore Right Ankle

Carmelo Anthony saved some of his best basketball of the season for the Trail Blazers' late-stage turnaround. All the more reason that with the postseason fast approaching, the 18-year veteran isn't taking any chances with his health.

Anthony will sit out Portland's tilt with the Houston Rockets on Monday at Moda Center due to a sprained right ankle, the team announced. It's the second straight game the future Hall-of-Famer will be sidelined, following the Blazers' impressive win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.

Anthony last played in Friday's huge victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, scoring three points on as many field goal attempts in just 18 minutes. Portland listed him as day-to-day in advance of the San Antonio game less than 24 hours later, and there was no single incident against the Lakers that proved the obvious cause of Anthony's injury.

All signs point to 'Melo's ankle sprain being minor, basically, including the notion that the Blazers will play it safe with the 36-year-old to keep him as fresh as possible for the playoffs.

Anthony was an underrated part of Portland's surge before going down. He averaged 13.1 points in 21.2 minutes off the bench from the Blazers' win over the Indiana Pacers on April 27 to Friday's game, setting nets ablaze by shooting 55.9 percent overall and 55.6 percent from beyond the arc during that seven-game stretch.

Portland, it's safe to say, can manage just fine without Anthony offensively versus the lowly Rockets, who own the league's worst defense since the All-Star break, per NBA.com/stats. The Blazers enter Monday night's action as whopping 14-point favorites.

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