NY KNICKS 107, WIZARDS 93
WASHINGTON — China can have
Stephon Marbury.
Jeremy Lin is evolving into the Asian
Steve Nash. Steve Nash with a vertical, that is.
The Jeremy Lin phenomenon took an unexpected turn Wednesday night when the Knicks point guard used a crossover dribble to blow past the Wizards'
John Wall and the lane opened up. A lay-up was too obvious and too predictable. Instead, Lin added another clip to his highlight reel by driving to the basket and elevating for a one-handed dunk.
Yes, he even dunks.
The undermanned but suddenly exciting Knicks are undefeated since
Mike D'Antoni handed the keys to the offense over to Lin, the second year guard out of Harvard. Wednesday night, Lin established a career-high in assists as the Knicks defeated the lowly Wizards 107-93.
The win improved the Knicks record to 11-15 heading into Friday's home game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Watch your back,
Kobe.
Although the Knicks were playing without
Carmelo Anthony and
Amar'e Stoudemire for the first time and used a starting lineup featuring
Landry Fields,
Bill Walker and
Jared Jeffries, D'Antoni's club held a lead over the last 17 minutes.
Lin, playing with a nasty cut on his chin over the last three weeks, recorded his first career double-double as he finished with 23 points and 10 assists. And he actually seemed to be enjoying himself as he played. Imagine that.
In three successive games, Lin has scored 25, 28 and 23 points while out-performing New Jersey's
Deron Williams, Utah's
Devin Harris and Wall, the top overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft. Wall scored 29 on 12 for 21 shooting and had his moments, including a driving left-handed dunk over Lin.
But Washington's pick and roll defense was no match for Lin and
Tyson Chandler, who morphed into Nash and Stoudemire. Chandler dominated the paint, scoring 25 points with 11 rebounds.
Steve Novak and
Iman Shumpert scored 19 and 17 respectively off the bench and Fields scored 16.
Trevor Booker scored 17 on 8-for-11 shooting for Washington, which fell to 5-20.
Lin had two fouls, a one-inch gash under his chin and was on the bench in the first quarter before he scored his first points. His second foul was a blocking call when Lin tried to draw a charge on Wall. D'Antoni was arguing for a traveling violation but instead he had Lin sitting next to him on the bench being attended to by trainer
Roger Hinds.
Lin returned with 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter and the Knicks trailing by seven. With Lin running high pick and rolls and Steve Novak hitting just about everything he threw up at the basket, the Knicks scored 35 points in the period with Lin recording eight with six assists.
Washington was leading 64-63 before Lin drew a shooting foul which gave the Knicks the lead for good. On the Knicks next possession, Fields' converted Lin's errant shot into a dunk.
It was all part of a 9-2 Knicks run culminating with Lin's dunk. The Verizon Center erupted as Lin pumped his fist. One Asian fan held up a sign reading: "Who says we can't drive."
Five other fans each wore a blue tee-shirt with orange lettering to spell out L-I-N 17. The 6-foot-3 Lin, who was released by the Warriors and Rockets before being signed by the Knicks in December, is becoming an NBA sensation. But his greatest impact is on the court where Lin has the Knicks moving without the ball and making the extra pass.
Lin made 9 of 14 shots, the most of any Knick. Five other Knicks had at least 10 shots.
