‘Linsanity’ continues: Phenom Jeremy Lin scores another win for Knicks
Posted February 15, 2012 8:09 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s becoming more than just a great basketball story.
On Tuesday night, the New York Knicks defeated the Toronto Raptors, thanks to their amazing point guard, Jeremy Lin.
The 23-year-old scored 27 points, finishing off the game with an electric three-pointer in the 90-87 win.
That’s six straight games that Lin, who was almost cut two weeks ago, has scored 20 or more points. The Knicks have gone on to win each one of those games.
During the pre-game introductions at the Air Canada Centre, Lin got a loud cheer.
The media contingent was playoff sized with about 75 more credentials given out than at a normal game. That included more than 25 Chinese journalists from the Toronto area.
Raptors officials had to turn down requests from journalists to cover a morning availability with Lin to prevent overcrowding.
There were a few T-shirts with Linsanity and No. 17 on the back. But there were also pockets of Knicks fans who cheered loudly no matter who scored for New York and they were jumping up in celebration when the Knicks surged late.
Almost overlooked in the hype was the return of Knicks power forward Amare Stoudemire, who scored 21 points. He had not played since Feb. 4 after the death of his older brother, Hazell, in Florida.
Stoudemire was as impressed with Lin as anyone else.
“It’s pretty amazing what he’s doing,” Stoudemire said. “I can’t really explain it, he’s doing a phenomenal job out there on the basketball court, he’s very poised. He reminds me a lot of Steve (Nash) and how Steve plays. It’s been fun to watch him and fun to be a part of it.”
The feeling is that Lin will help Stoudemire because of his skill in working the pick-and-roll, and there were signs of that as the game progressed.
It was just last week the 23-year-old Harvard grad came off the bench to lead the Knicks to five consecutive victories in his debut as a starter.
“I think this is a miracle from God, the way I would describe it, just because obviously, I don’t think anybody expected this to happen the way it happened,” Lin said.
A day earlier, the NBA’s first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese heritage was named Eastern Conference player of the week after averaging 27.3 points and 8.3 assists in his first four starts.
His sudden arrival in the spotlight comes after he went undrafted, worked out for but was passed over by several teams including the Raptors, then was cut by Golden State and Houston.
Now Lin is getting all the spotlight he could ever hope for.
“Are we in the playoffs now?” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said after he entered the packed room for the media conference Tuesday morning.
D’Antoni — whose search for a point guard had been frustrated by injury and poor performance — called Lin’s story, dubbed “Linderella,” a great one for the game.
Lin, who is due to make $789,000 (U.S.) this season, was a hot ticket Saturday in Minnesota as the Timberwolves drew their largest crowd since 2004.
Not only does he show skill in creating plays, his tough side was evident against the Raptors when he took some hard fouls.
