Linsanity prevails in New York's routing of Lakers
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E-mail Xinhua, February 11, 2012
Linsanity has been overwhelming in Jeremy Lin's 38 points and seven assists, steering New York Knicks to a 92-85 victory over Los Angeles Lakers and also their fourth streak win on Friday at Madison Square Garden.
Lin, the undrafted, Harvard-educated guard and first American-born Chinese in the NBA, posted his fourth game in a row of 20-plus points and had his third career high in a row.
Lin shot 13-for-23, adding with four rebounds and two steals, overshadowing Lakers star Kobe Bryant, who finished with 34 points but on 11-of-29 shooting. Lin's 38 points was a Knick high for the season.
Asked about Lin after Thursday night's win against Boston Celtics, Bryant said: "What? No idea. I don't even know what he's done. I have no idea what you guys are talking about." After the game, Bryant won't say so for sure.
"Again, I'm just going to thank my team. It's fun to play basketball with these guys," Lin said after the game. "We respect them a lot, we respect their players, we're just happy to get a win. This is my dream, I'm just thankful to God, this is my dream being lived out."
Lin, who hit a three-pointer for the Knicks' first points, had nine points in the first five minutes of the game and helped New York to a 22-15 lead after one quarter. Lin was 4-of-7 for 10 points and had three assists and one steal.
He rested early in the second quarter, then got hot again nearing halftime.
The Garden exploded on consecutive possessions for the Knicks and Lin's performances, beginning with 3:04 left in the quarter when Lin drove the lane, made a turnaround move on the Lakers' Derek Fisher and scored.
Twenty-one seconds later, Lin drove the lane again, but this time he put a spin move on Fisher for the basket.
At halftime, the Knicks led 49-41, with Lin scoring 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting, five assists and one steal.
When Lin went to the bench late in the third quarter and into the fourth, Bryant got hot and the Lakers had rallied to cut the Knicks' lead to 70-67. In the span of about five minutes, Bryant scored 10 points and had 24.
When Lin returned, however, he reached his new career high of 29 points by hitting a corner shot with 8:02 in the game for a 76-67 Knicks lead.
And after a three-pointer with 5:33 left, Lin had 34 points.
With a reverse lay-up and two free throws, Lin boost his total to 38 points.
Asked how to describe the energy he was generating and the reaction by the crowd, Lin said: "We all feed off each other, it's not just me."
That unselfish attitude is what makes Lin so popular among his teammates.
Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni is pretty happy, too. He's optimistic his team has finally filled its greatest need, albeit in a manner no one expected.
"This was hard to predict. It's like winning the lottery," said D'Antoni. "You buy a ticket and hope, but there is no guarantee it's going to happen."
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