Hornets-Knicks Preview

By MATT BECKER
Posted Feb 17 2012 11:43AM

While the incredible emergence of New York's Jeremy Lin has taken the country by storm, many are wondering how this overnight success story will coexist with Carmelo Anthony upon his return.

That question may not be answered just yet.

Lin and Anthony had been hoping to be in the starting lineup together as the host Knicks go for an eighth straight win Friday night against the lowly New Orleans Hornets, but Anthony is considered doubtful due to his strained right groin.

Lin's story has been well documented since he came off the bench to score a game-high 25 points in a 99-92 win over New Jersey on Feb. 4. Unheard of by most of the nation prior to that performance, the former Harvard star has guided the Knicks (15-15) to seven straight victories and into eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

While Lin has become a household name and New York is relevant again in the basketball world, there is some concern about how Anthony will fit in with a team that has suddenly developed chemistry in his absence.

Anthony was in the starting lineup for Lin's first start Feb. 6 against Utah, but left because of his injury after playing less than six minutes and hasn't suited up since. There's still a chance he'll face New Orleans, but he may be more likely to return Sunday against Dallas.

Before the rise of Linsanity, New York's offense went through Anthony, and he didn't hesitate to fire up shots. The five-time All-Star is fourth in the NBA in field-goal attempts per game at 18.8 but is shooting 39.9 percent, the sixth-worst mark in the league among qualifying players.

Lin became the team's primary scorer in Anthony's absence, averaging 27.2 points and 19.6 shots in his first five starts, but proved Wednesday he doesn't need to score for New York to be successful.

After totaling 136 points in his first five starts - the most by any player since the NBA merged with the ABA in 1976 - Lin finished with 10 points and a career-best 13 assists in an easy 100-85 win over Sacramento. He sat out the fourth quarter after playing just 26 minutes - 10 fewer than in any other game since joining the rotation.

"As a point guard, my field-goal attempts have been really high and I don't think that's necessarily good," Lin said. "I think it's more of my job to distribute and get people in rhythm."

Landry Fields had team highs of 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who put seven players in double figures in scoring for the first time since April 5, 2009, at Toronto. Amare Stoudemire had 11 points in 27 minutes after finishing with 21 and nine rebounds in Tuesday's 90-87 win at Toronto, his first game back after sitting out four following the death of his brother.

Stoudemire combined for 58 points on 61.0 percent shooting in two games - both Knicks wins - against the Hornets last season. Anthony aided the second one with 22 points after arriving from Denver.

New Orleans (6-23) arrives in New York having won back-to-back games after winning just two of its previous 25. The Hornets defeated Milwaukee 92-89 on Wednesday despite dressing only 10 players and being without several key contributors.

Marco Belinelli made a career-high six 3-pointers and had a season-high 22 points for New Orleans, which is again expected to be without Emeka Okafor, Jarrett Jack, Carl Landry and Eric Gordon - all sidelined with knee problems.

"We're a fighting team," coach Monty Williams said. "We have a little bit of grit about us. It's too bad you don't have a stat for heart and intensity because we'd be at the top of the league."

The Hornets have lost six straight games to the Knicks since a 118-110 victory April 4, 2008.

Hornets end Knicks' Lin-ning streak, 89-85

By RACHEL COHEN
Posted Feb 18 2012 3:16AM

NEW YORK (AP) Jeremy Lin knows everybody credited him for the Knicks' seven straight wins, so he takes the blame for their one-game losing streak.

With famous fan Spike Lee donning Lin's high school jersey in the latest bout of Linsanity, New York's point guard sensation committed nine turnovers, tied for the most in the NBA this season, in an 89-85 loss to the New Orleans Hornets on Friday night.

Lin scored 26 points, but his turnovers nearly doubled his five assists, and the Knicks lost for the first time with Lin as a starter, falling back below .500 at 15-16 heading into a matchup with the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.

"Just a lackluster effort on my part coming out and careless with the ball, and so nine turnovers is obviously never going to get it done from your primary ballhandler," Lin said. "It's on me in terms of taking care of the ball and also the game in general."

Trevor Ariza scored 25 points for the Hornets, who have won three in a row after a 4-23 start. Marco Belinelli added 17.

Amare Stoudemire had 26 points and 12 rebounds for New York.

Before the game, one fan spotted a guy in a Palo Alto High jersey and asked, "Are you Lin's high school coach?"

The green No. 20 in fact belonged to a fellow former Palo Alto player, who was tasked with transporting Lin's old No. 4 jersey cross-country so it could be worn by Lee. The latest twist in the Lin saga started earlier this week when his high school coach in California, Peter Diepenbrock, said in an interview with a New York radio station that he hoped to put a Vikings jersey on the director's back. Turns out Lee heard about it and had a representative contact Diepenbrock about making it happen.

Diepenbrock isn't scheduled to make it to a Knicks game until Sunday, but another of his former players, Chris Bobel, was planning to get to New York on Friday and delivered the jersey to Lee's rep.

The Knicks were playing for the sixth straight game without injured All-Star Carmelo Anthony and missed 20 of their 24 3-point attempts. They were only 19 of 29 on free throws and were flat early, quieting a crowd that has been buzzing since Lin joined the rotation.

"We got the same shots we've been getting," Tyson Chandler said. "They just didn't fall."

Down by 12 early in the fourth, the Knicks made a run with Lin on the bench and cut it to 73-71 when Jared Jeffries hit a free throw after Lin returned during a timeout with 5:29 left.

The Knicks got it down to two again on Lin's free throws with 1:06 to play. But Gustavo Ayon answered with a bucket, Lin missed wildly on a drive to the basket, and when Belinelli's free throws with 25 seconds left made it 87-82, fans began heading for the exits, perhaps in search of Lin-burgers, "Lings" - Asian-spiced chicken wings - or "Lintinis," Lin-spired items that have begun popping up at bars around the city.

"It's the NBA, man. I mean, the kid is really good. I love his passion. What I love about him is he is so humble. He deserves everything he got right now and everything he is going through because, you know, the way he handles himself," Hornets guard Greivis Vasquez said. "But tonight it was a little bit different. We came out and played great team defense."

Thus ended a remarkable run by the Knicks, who were 8-15 when coach Mike D'Antoni finally turned to Lin, the undrafted point guard from Harvard who was perhaps days from being cut for the third time this season when he got this sputtering team on track.

They only figure to get stronger in the coming days. Anthony worked out before the game and is close to returning, and the Knicks signed his former Denver teammate, J.R. Smith, on Friday. Smith is eligible to return to the NBA after his Chinese team's season ended, and the Knicks believe he will strengthen their poor 3-point shooting, which cost them Friday.

"They're long and they did defend well," D'Antoni said of the Hornets. "But at the same time, I was telling (Lin) he's trying to make the hardest pass out there; he's trying to make the home run pass. That will happen for young guys. When they collapse so much, he has to kick. At the same time, we weren't making any outside shots, so they weren't coming out.

"He'll learn. He'll get through it. I thought he played well. Second half, he adjusted."

The poor performance came just as many New York residents finally got to see Lin for the first time. Fueled largely by the Asian-American's popularity, MSG network and Time Warner reached a tentative deal Friday that puts Knicks games back on TV for some 2 million Time Warner Cable subscribers in the New York area. New York state officials and the NBA had pressured the companies to settle a dispute that began Jan. 1.

Lee, who usually sports Landry Fields' No. 2, wore the dark green No. 4 over a neon green long sleeve shirt, clashing horribly with the Hornets' green and purple Mardi Gras uniforms.

But the ugliest thing at the start was the Knicks' offense. Lin's five turnovers in the first quarter matched their number of baskets.

"We had a few lulls in the second and a little bit in the fourth. But when you play that kind of defense, to hold that team to 13 points in the first quarter and 19 in the third, you set yourself up to have a chance," Hornets coach Monty Williams said.

Lin has been turnover prone - committing at least six in five straight games - and it finally came back to cost the Knicks this time.

"It takes a few games like this in order to learn from the mistakes," Stoudemire said. "It's a learning curve for him right now. He's going to watch film, I'm sure, and get better."

Notes: NBAstore.com has shipped Lin merchandise to 23 countries since Feb. 4, with Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia ranking only behind the United States and Canada in largest shipments. ... The Knicks had won the previous six meetings. Their longest current winning streak against an opponent is eight straight wins over Washington. ... The Knicks paid tribute to former Mets catcher Gary Carter, who died Thursday, during a first-quarter timeout.

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AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report.

Notebook: Hornets 89, Knicks 85

Posted Friday February 17, 2012 11:52PM

Adam Zagoria, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Linsanity has hit a speed bump. At least for now. Jeremy Lin and the Knicks saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end at the hands of the New Orleans Hornets, 89-85, at Madison Square Garden.

New Orleans, which owns the NBA's second-worst record (7-23), led the entire game. All five Hornets starters scored in double-figures, led by Trevor Ariza's 25. Greivis Vasquez added 15 points and 11 assists.

Lin put up 26 points and five assists but also tallied eight of his nine turnovers in the first half. Amar'e Stoudemire added 26 points and 12 boards for the Knicks.

QUOTABLE: "It was just a lackluster effort on my part coming out and [being] careless with the ball. Nine turnovers is obviously never gonna get it done from your primary ball-handler. It's on me in terms of taking care of the ball and the game in general. If everyone's going to credit me for these last seven games, then I definitely deserve this one. So that's fine by me."
-- Lin

THE STAT: The Knicks shot 19-for-29 from the line and 4-for-24 from beyond the arc, which helps explain why they signed J.R. Smith Friday. Smith is a career 37 percent 3-point shooter and went 14-for-18 from beyond the arc in a recent Chinese League game.

QUOTABLE II: "Obviously we could've used him [Smith] tonight and Melo."
-- Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni

THE STAT II: Lin has 45 turnovers in his first seven starts. That is an NBA record (since 1977-78). Glenn Robinson is second with 38, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

QUOTABLE III: "I don't think he expected to go without a defeat this year, so I think he's fine."
-- D'Antoni on Lin

TURNING POINT: After the Knicks closed a 13-point second-half deficit to 82-80 on a pair of Lin foul shots, Gustavo Ayon scored on a cutting layup to extend the lead to 84-80. The Knicks were within three at 85-82, but Landry Fields inexplicably fouled Marco Belinelli despite Belinelli having nowhere to go while trapped on the sideline. Belinelli drained two free throws for an 87-82 lead.

WHO'S HOT: Despite his turnover numbers, Lin has scored 20-plus points in seven of his eight starts. He has also dished seven or more assists in seven of the eight games.

WHO'S NOT: Starting in place of Carmelo Anthony (groin), Billy Walker went 1-for-5 for two points. Walker will return to the bench Sunday if Anthony is healthy enough to play, and Walker will also likely lose playing time to Smith when he arrives.

QUOTABLE IV: "I don't think this is good because I hate losing."
-- Lin

NOTABLE: Knicks interim GM Glen Grunwald credited Mark Warkentien with the signing of Smith. "Mark Warkentien obviously was the general manager in Denver with J.R. and he was instrumental in getting this done and he obviously was very supportive and obviously the key guy to get this done," Grunwald said. Smith won't play Sunday against the Dallas Mavericks, D'Antoni said, but could debut Monday against the Nets or Wednesday against Atlanta.

NOTABLE II: Baron Davis played 3-on-3 Friday and will do so Saturday, according to D'Antoni, who left the door open for him to play this week.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Paul McCartney and NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice sat courtside.

UP NEXT: For the Knicks, Sunday vs. Mavericks, Monday vs. Nets, Wednesday vs. Hawks. For the Hornets, Monday @ Oklahoma City, Tuesday @ Indiana, Wednesday @ Cleveland.

• Hornets: Gordon, Landry
• Knicks: Davis, Harrellson, Smith

• Hornets: --
• Knicks: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
• Officials: #20 Leroy Richardson, #31 Scott Wall, #23 Jason Phillips
• Attendance: 19763
• Duration: 2:22