Lakers-Knicks Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Feb 10 2012 1:22AM

Jeremy Lin's emergence from utter obscurity has the New York Knicks gaining confidence and victories.

Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers are rarely lacking in either of those categories.

A budding fan favorite among the faithful at Madison Square Garden, Lin faces possibly his toughest test yet Friday night as the Knicks attempt to defeat Bryant and the Lakers at home for the first time in more than five years.

New York (11-15) was one of the NBA's biggest disappointments during a woeful 2-11 stretch Jan. 12-Feb. 3, but Lin has provided a much-needed spark since then.

The second-year point guard, who played only sparingly prior to the last three games, is averaging 25.3 points and 8.3 assists during the Knicks' three-game winning streak.

Lin's opportunity has come amid the absence of Knicks stars Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire. Anthony is out with a strained right groin, while Stoudemire isn't expected back from grieving the death of his brother until Tuesday at Toronto.

In the meantime, Lin's sudden production and popularity has the Knicks selling shirts with "Linsanity" emblazoned across the front.

He lived up to the hype again Wednesday, scoring 23 points while shooting 9 of 14 from the floor and adding 10 assists in a 107-93 win at Washington.

"Like I said after the last game, I wouldn't have imagined this," said Lin, who went undrafted out of Harvard in 2010 and played his rookie season with Golden State, averaging 2.6 points in 29 games as a reserve.

Lin may be reviving both the Knicks' season and embattled coach Mike D'Antoni's job security.

"I think it's for real," D'Antoni said of Lin's surge. "The things that are real are his vision, which won't change; his speed, which won't change; his knowledge of the game, which won't change. I think it can only get better.

"He just does everything easy and the rest of the guys around him are playing the way we want to play."

Lin and the Knicks, who are looking to match their season-high four game winning streak from Jan. 6-11, are in for a major test against the Lakers (15-11).

The Knicks have lost nine in a row to Los Angeles, including four straight at MSG. They fell 99-82 in Los Angeles on Dec. 29, when Lin scored two points in 1:40 of playing time.

Bryant, the league leader with 29.2 points per game, has averaged 33.4 points during the Lakers' nine-game winning streak in this series. He's averaging an incredible 40.0 points in his last four visits to New York, including a 33-point effort in a 113-96 victory last Feb. 11.

Teammate Pau Gasol had 25 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks Thursday as the Lakers won 88-87 in overtime at Boston. One of the blocks came at the final buzzer to secure the victory.

"I've been in situations before in my career where you freeze ... catch yourself looking at the ball and end up losing the game," Gasol said.

Gasol is averaging 26.8 points and 9.0 rebounds in his last four road games against the Knicks.

Lin scores 38 to lead Knicks over Lakers 92-85

By BRIAN MAHONEY
Posted Feb 11 2012 5:32AM

NEW YORK (AP) Jeremy Lin outplayed Kobe Bryant, ended the mighty Lakers' dominance of the Knicks and then tried to pretend it was just another game.

Wrong.

This was the night that proved he's no one-week wonder, that he's got a real NBA career ahead of him.

After all, Kobe's waiting for revenge next season.

Lin had the most astounding performance of his remarkable week, scoring a career-high 38 points and outdueling Bryant as New York held off the Los Angeles Lakers 92-85 on Friday night.

Buried deep on the bench a little more than a week ago, Lin led the Knicks to their fourth straight win, tying their longest streak of the season. His two free throws with 52 seconds left amid booming "MVP! MVP!" chants stopped the Lakers' final rally and allowed the undrafted Harvard product to pass Carmelo Anthony for the highest-scoring game by a Knicks player this season.

"I didn't try to see this game as any different," Lin said. "I just try to make sure that when I get there on the floor, I play as hard as I can and try to do everything I can to help the team win.

"The only thing we established tonight is four in a row. Now we try to go for five tomorrow. I'm not too worried about proving anything to anybody. As a team we're growing and trying to build on the momentum."

Iman Shumpert added 12 points for the Knicks, who are still without Anthony and Amare Stoudemire. But they have Lin, the point guard that two other teams gave up on in December and didn't get his chance in New York until three other players couldn't do the job.

Bryant finished with 34 points, but he got off to a horrendous start and finished only 11 of 29 from the field. Pau Gasol had 16 points and 10 rebounds, but All-Star Andrew Bynum was only 1 of 8 for three points with 13 rebounds as the Lakers' nine-game winning streak against the Knicks was snapped.

Four of those wins had come at Madison Square Garden, where fans used to roar for Bryant.

They've got a new favorite now, and who could have ever predicted it'd be Lin?

"I think it's a great story," Bryant said. "I think it's a testament to perseverance and hard work. Good example for kids everywhere."

A night earlier, Bryant said he wasn't familiar with Lin's game. Now, he'll awake to headlines everywhere that Lin beat him at the "world's most famous arena."

"Enjoy it," Bryant said. "They'll receive judgment next season."

The most surprising story in the NBA came back into the game with 9:25 left after the Knicks' lead had been trimmed to three. Shumpert hit a jumper and blew by Bryant for a dunk before Lin knocked down a jumper to push the lead to 76-69 with about 8 minutes left.

The lead was still eight before Lin nailed a long jumper, then was wide open after an offensive rebound for a 3-pointer from the wing, making it 84-71 as fans stood and screamed throughout the Lakers' timeout.

"What he's doing is amazing," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said. "He answered a lot of questions tonight. Can he make an outside shot? Can he pull the trigger in a big moment? He hit two 3s that just broke the game open. There's so much stuff that he's doing."

Lin followed his 28-point, eight-assist outing Monday in his first career start by scoring 23 points and handing out 10 assists Wednesday against Washington, becoming the first player since LeBron James in 2003 and just the sixth since 1970 to have at least 20 points and eight assists in his first two starts, according to research from the Elias Sports Bureau provided by the Knicks.

He became an instant star in New York just as fans were ready to check out basketball after the Giants' Super Bowl run was over, and just when it appeared the Knicks might fall too far behind in the standings to salvage the season.

Some Lin shirts sold out of one souvenir stand on the concourse level before the game even started were scattered throughout Madison Square Garden - though Spike Lee was still wearing Landry Fields' No. 2 in his courtside seat. Ratings on MSG network are up since Lin joined the lineup, and the NBA said some of its Asian TV partners have added Knicks games to their broadcast schedules so fans can see the league's first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent.

Already drawing comparisons to Tim Tebow for his impact on teammates and the way he speaks of his faith afterward, the hype around him will only grow now after beating one of the league's marquee franchises in his first nationally televised game.

A night after needing overtime to win at Boston, the Lakers had nothing to start the game, and Lin quickly jumped on them. He started 4 of 5 as the Knicks raced to a 13-4 lead, and it grew to 19-8 as Los Angeles missed 12 of its first 13 shots.

Lin's four field goals in the first quarter matched the Lakers' total in 18 attempts (22 percent).

"I think that you can stop a player from not getting 38 points on you any night. I don't care how good he is, but I guess we didn't step up to the challenge as a team," Gasol said. "(We) overlooked him I guess. Obviously, he made big plays. Made big shots. You've got to give him credit."

The Lakers cut a 14-point deficit to five late in the half before Lin put the Knicks back in control. He had a turnaround jumper then spun around to leave Derek Fisher behind on his way to a layup, pushing it to 47-38 with 2:44 remaining. It was 49-41 at halftime.

Bryant started 1 of 11 before hitting five of his next six shots. The record holder at the current arena with 61 points, he also grabbed 10 rebounds but got going far too late.

Notes: The Knicks had two points taken off the board in the third quarter when the referees ruled a foul earlier in the period on Metta World Peace shouldn't have counted against the Lakers' team foul total, so the Knicks shouldn't have been in the bonus and shot free throws yet on a later foul. ... D'Antoni said Anthony told him he was feeling better and walking without pain. The All-Star forward is expected to be re-evaluated Sunday, but D'Antoni said he doubted Anthony would play Tuesday at Toronto. The Knicks said Anthony was expected to miss a week or two after he was hurt Monday. ... Stoudemire, whose brother died in Florida on Monday, is expected to rejoin the team at practice Monday. ... Fisher made his 400th consecutive start. He has played in 522 straight games, the longest active streak in the league. ... Celebrities on hand included actor Ben Stiller, wrestler and actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and Giants Justin Tuck, Brandon Jacobs, Hakeem Nicks and Antrel Rolle.

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Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney

Notebook: Knicks 92, Lakers 85

Posted Friday February 10, 2012 11:55PM

By Adam Zagoria, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Linsanity was in full bloom at Madison Square Garden.

Jeremy Lin went for a career-high 38 points with seven assists as the Knicks won their fourth straight game by dumping Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, 92-85, at Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks are now 4-0 since Linsanity began in Saturday night's win over the Nets and 3-0 since he entered the starting lineup during the absences of Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony.

Bryant scored 34 points on 11-for-29 shooting for the Lakers, who were playing the second night of a back-to-back, having won Thursday in Boston.

The Knicks beat the Lakers with Bryant at the Garden for the first time since 2005.

QUOTABLE: "The only thing we established tonight was getting four in a row and we're going for five tomorrow."
-- Lin.

THE STAT: Lin's scoring output was the most by a Knick this season, surpassing Anthony's 37 in the season-opener against Boston. Lin has now upped his career-high for the third time in a week, going from 25 points against the Nets to 28 against Utah to 38 here.

TURNING POINT: The Knicks raced out to a 16-6 first-quarter lead behind 12 points and two assists from Lin, and never looked back. They led 22-15 after the first period and and 49-41 at the break.

WHO'S HOT: Jared Jeffries has really benefitted from Lin's play. He scored 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting and added nine rebounds.

WHO'S NOT: The Lakers starters. Besides Bryant's 34, the other four Lakers starters combined for 25 points, led by Pau Gasol's 16. Derek Fisher (six points), Andrew Bynum (three) and Metta World Peace (zero) combined for nine points.

QUOTABLE II: "I have never seen anything like this. It's a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. For Lin to go unnoticed this long. Hard to do."
-- Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni

QUOTABLE III: "To be honest with you, 38 points I was shocked. He got 38 points in the context of team basketball. To me, that really says it all."
-- D'Antoni.

NOTABLE: Stoudemire will return to practice Monday from mourning his brother's death. Anthony (groin) is "getting closer," D'Antoni said. "I don't know if it's a few days [away], but it's good." "I'm excited about getting those two guys back," D'Antoni said.

Baron Davis has "been on the court the last couple days and...it's positive," D'Antoni said. He's still not participating in contact drills. There is no timetable on his return.

QUOTABLE IV: "He played a terrific ball game. He was the difference in the ball game."
-- Lakers coach Mike Brown on Lin.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Antrel Rolle, Hakeem Nicks and Brandon Jacobs of the Super Bowl champion New York football Giants sat courtside.

UP NEXT: For the Knicks, Saturday @ Minnesota, Tuesday @ Toronto, Wednesday vs. Sacramento. For the Lakers, Sunday @ Toronto, Tuesday vs. Atlanta, Friday vs. Phoenix.

• Lakers: Morris
• Knicks: Davis, Harrellson

• Lakers: --
• Knicks: --

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
• Officials: #10 Ron Garretson, #54 Nick Buchert, #26 Pat Fraher
• Attendance: 19763
• Duration: 2:31