Jeremy Lin scored 13 points on 6 of 12 shooting from the field, including 1 of 2 from the three-point line and managed seven rebounds, three assists and one steal as the Houston Rockets defeated the New York Knicks soundly, 131-103 on Friday night in Houston.
Jeremy Lin posts modest but efficient stat line, downplays Linsanity in Rockets win over Knicks
Linsanity didn’t need to take hold for the Rockets on Friday night to make quick work of the New York Knicks at the Toyota Center, but there was plenty of reaction after the game anyway regarding the former Knicks star.
Scott Halleran
It was Lin's first game against the team that gave him stardom and a real shot at NBA glory, but it wasn't a day of reckoning for the player that was the center of Linsanity less than a year ago. He played just under 35 minutes and committed four turnovers, but watched his teammates do the heavy lifting as James Harden and Chandler Parsons combined for a total of 64 points.
But all eyes were on the dynamic between Lin and the Knicks, who will have to wait and see whether or not their gamble to let him walk via free agency was the right move. As far as his ex-teammates go, they appeared to have no hard feelings toward their former floor general following the game.
In particular, Carmelo Anthony, who led all scorers with 37 points, had nothing but positive things to say about the reunion. "He's a cool guy. I don't have a problem with him as a person," he told reporters in the post-game interview. "It was just good to see him back out there."
Lin remained focused on the big picture following the game and downplayed the phenomenon the sports world saw in the Big Apple.
“I feel like I’m not looking to recreate what happened in New York,” Lin said of his incredible run with the Knicks a season ago. “For me, I want to be a consistent player, I want to get better. I don’t know what my potential is and I don’t know if I could play any better than I did during that one-week stretch, but we’ll find out and see how close I can get.”
When the dust settles, this will be just another solid ‘W’ in the win column for the Rockets, and Lin will continue to put in the work necessary to validate the hoopla surrounding his arrival.
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