August 23, 2006: Carmelo Anthony scores 35 points and sets a U.S. record for points scored in international play.
Anthony's scoring record came against Italy in the 2006 FIBA tournament. While the mark falls well short of NBA scoring thresholds, Anthony's mark was impressive because it came in a 40-minute game, instead of the NBA regulation 48 minutes.
Anthony also scored 29 points in a mere 19 minutes of the second half of the game, a breakneck pace. The previous scoring mark, held by Kenny Anderson, had been set in 1990.
In 2006, Anthony was also on the verge of evolving into one of the game's top scorers. And unlike many international games where the United States blows out a team, his scoring was badly needed: the Americans had to come back against the Italians after falling behind early.
Although Anthony would wind up breaking his own scoring record six years later, his 35-point performance still stands as one of the better international performances by a U.S. player considering the stakes -- behind Anthony's great 2006 outing, the United States won its pool and went on to win the FIBA World Championship.
