Lin '10 Scores 13 as Knicks Roll to Second Straight Win

For the second straight game, the New York Knicks earned a victory, handily defeating the Indiana Pacers, 115-100, on Friday night at Madison Square Garden. But for the second straight game, Jeremy Lin ’10 wasn’t the one spearheading his team’s success.

Lin, statistically speaking, was strictly mediocre. He shot 42.8 percent from the field and totaled 13 points on three-for-seven shooting. The Harvard alum grabbed five boards as well as five assists and turned the ball over three times—a limited number compared to that of some of his recent games.

With the recent resignation of Mike D’Antoni and the readjustment to new interim coach Mike Woodson, some big questions surrounded Knicks basketball. How would Lin fit into the new system? How long until Baron Davis takes over the starting point guard position?

Prior to the game, Woodson spoke to this issue.

“Jeremy’s a big part of what we do,” Woodson said. “He’s our starting point guard. He and I are on the same page.”

Due to an unfortunate second-quarter hamstring injury to Davis, that dilemma, for now, is simplified. Davis did not return to the game, and there is no timetable for when he could suit up again for the team.

For Lin, these next few weeks are all about regaining the mentality that the team had during its February transformation.

“You can’t really describe how much fun we were having during the seven-game win streak,” Lin told reporters after the game. “And that’s what we’re building toward right now. I think we get a couple more and it’s going to be even more fun. We’re just building as a team, we’re improving and I think we’re developing our chemistry right now.”

The Knicks’ main contributor in the game was Tyson Chandler. The center shot 8 for 11 and pulled down seven rebounds and four blocks. Both Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire did not shoot well, finishing with combined 7 for 21 from the field. Interestingly, during the pre-game announcements, the Madison Square Garden crowd jeered and booed Anthony—a treatment only games ago reserved for D’Antoni.

Though it seems that Linsanity belongs to the days of the past, it looks like the Knicks, with two consecutive wins, may be starting to get back on track. And, after the week that this ball club has had, it will take those W’s—whether they are worthy of the word play that February brought about or not.