Lakers' Carmelo Anthony Talks Viral Free-Throw Violation: 'That Was Funny as Hell'

In the Los Angeles Lakers' 121-114 season-opening loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, Carmelo Anthony committed a free-throw violation in the third quarter, causing many onlookers to infer he pump-faked the ball.

He was seen cracking up afterward:

We now have clarity on what happened, as the 37-year-old explained to reporters Thursday: "That was funny as hell. It wasn't really a pump-fake. ... I went up and the ball hit my forehead, so if I'd have continued, it would have been an air-ball. So I was like, 'I'm not taking the air-ball.' ... I'd rather take the violation than the air-ball."

Anthony finished his Lakers debut with nine points on 3-of-9 shooting, hitting 2-of-4 from three.