Yahoo Sports
The New York Knicks got a boost from an unlikely source in Saturday night's game (Feb. 4) against the New Jersey Nets. Just new chant from the Knicks fans said it all as during the second half "Jeremy Lin" was heard throughout Madison Square Garden. Coach Mike D'Antoni decided to give Lin some heavy minutes in the first half and he quickly provided the spark that the team needed to see. Credit Lin as the main reason that the Knicks held on to win this game.
Lin played the last 15 minutes of the first half, giving a lot of energy and proving that he has more to offer than just a few minutes off the bench. With Lin leading the charge, the Knicks out-scored the Nets 26-18 in that second quarter. When the Knicks started off slow in the second half, Lin got put back in the game with less than four minutes coming off the clock. He wouldn't go to the bench for the remainder of the game, proving that he may have just won over D'Antoni to get minutes every night. He finished with a game-high 36 minutes for the Knicks.
The biggest stat to look at in this game was the plus/minus that Lin had. When he was leading the offense, the Knicks out-scored the Nets by 13. He was able to put the ball on the floor to drive the lane, causing the nets to commit fouls and opening up his teammates for easy shot opportunities. His ability to break down the defense of the Nets is something that the team should try to use against other teams, especially considering he was also playing great on the defensive end of the floor.
New York would end up winning this game 99-92, while Lin scored a career-high 25 points on 10-for-19shooting off the bench. Lin also added 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals to put up the best stat line for either team. Carmelo Anthony didn't have a good shooting night, finishing 3-for-14 from the field for 11 points. Amare Stoudemire, saddled by early foul trouble in the game, only ended up with 17 points to his credit, but Tyson Chandler scored 17 on just 7-for-9 shooting.
Don't look now Knicks fans, but the team may have a new point guard that D'Antoni should seriously consider starting in the next game. Not only did he get the job done, but Lin emerged his teammates and the crowd the entire time that he was on the court. I for one would like to see what he can do as the starting point guard when the Knicks face the Utah Jazz at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday (Feb. 6).
Published February 04, 2012 22:03