Carmelo Anthony's scoring numbers may be down this season as he adjusts to being the third option on the Oklahoma City Thunder, but he's still recognised as one of the best scorers in NBA history.The small forward has seen his production dip this year to a career-low 17.0 points per game, compared to his career average of 24.3 points.The change of role with his new team has played a huge part in this but it still hasn't stopped him hitting impressive scoring milestones.In the Thunder's 122-112 loss at home to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night, Melo moved into the top 20 on the all-time NBA scoring list, passing Hall of Famer Jerry West.The veteran set the mark with a three-pointer from the left wing in the first quarter.

"It's an honour, I don't want to sit here and say that it's not an honour," Anthony said, per ESPN's Royce Young. "It's a blessing to be on that list, top 20. I don't even know what else to say about that."

Anthony said he was unaware of the feat until he was told after the game. He finished the night with 23 points on 8-of-18 shooting which put him on 25,210 for his career.

"I wish it would've came with a win tonight, but aside from that, I accept it and I think I should be proud of making that list," Anthony said.

"To be 20th in the history of this game is something that I never, ever thought of, ever dreamt of. To be in this situation right now and still have years to go in this league is definitely a blessing for me."

The 33-year-old now only needs another 62 points to move to 19th on the list and surpass Reggie Miller.

OKC have their next three games at home so Carmelo could potentially achieve this in front of his home fans.

But the 10-time All-Star wasn't in the mood to celebrate his accomplishment after the Thunder suffered a second consecutive defeat.

It has seen them drop to seventh in the Western Conference with a 37-29 record and in danger of potentially missing out on the playoffs in a hotly contested race.

Oklahoma City is beginning to hit a rough patch at just the wrong time with just 16 games to go to secure a postseason berth.

But with home games against the Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs and Sacramento Kings in their next three outings, they'll have a good chance to put more wins on the board and keep themselves firmly in contention.