Lin scores 38 to lead Knicks over Lakers 92-85

By BRIAN MAHONEY

NEW YORK (AP) Jeremy Lin keeps getting better. Better even than Kobe Bryant on Friday night.

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

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 and some 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.

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.

Five 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?

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.

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 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).

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. ... Knicks coach Mike 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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POSTGAME QUOTES



Mike Brown:

On tonight’s game:

“I thought we came out flat tonight, especially to start the game. Looking at all the long rebounds from the long shots that they took and all of the 50-50 balls on the floor, it seemed like they got every one. We’re the bigger team, obviously we had more rebounds than them, but they got enough 50-50 balls and long rebounds to where they outscored us in second chance points. When the ball’s not going in the ocean like it wasn’t tonight, every loose ball and every long rebound that they get hurts. At the end of the day, at times, I thought our half court defense was okay. Coming up with those long rebounds, those loose balls, and our inability tonight to knock down a few shots that were wide open I thought hurt us in the course of the game.”

“I am disappointed in how we handled him (Jeremy Lin) defensively. That’s not taking anything away from him. I thought we could have done a better job at it. When he drove to the basket, we were late with our weak side coming across and trapping the box, he got to the rim. I don’t remember anybody getting to the rim for that many layups against us without another body being there. That’s what we preach. Our weak side defense has to come over and help. We didn’t do a good job in that area tonight. Having said all that, you have to give him credit. He played a terrific ball game. He was the difference in the ball game. They struggled as much as we did except for him coming through and hitting shot after shot and layup after layup after layup.”

“I thought he got the ball, whether it was offensive rebounds or he got it deep…They came to double him right away and when he gets doubled like that, he has to kick the ball out and hit the re-post. He had a few re-posts tonight. He has to make a strong move and if that’s not there, he has to kick it out and then we have to make shots on the backside. I can’t tell you how many open looks we had that we missed.”

“We didn’t have the energy to play well tonight. We didn’t carry it and we seemed very lethargic.”

“He played extremely well. That has been the way he has been playing for the last three or four games. He has been phenomenal. We have watched some tape on him. We came up with a strategy that we thought would be effective but he was knocking down his jump shot, penetrating, and he got around our guards.”

“I did not shoot really well…in Boston either. I am looking forward to practice…to go hard and try to get my touch back around the rim. I have to be able to stay low. I missed tip-ins too today. I had two or three of those that I made last night that just didn’t fall for me.”

“Everybody was tired, but you have to come out and be ready. They (the Knicks) pushed the tempo in the first quarter. I think every quarter except the first was pretty close.”

“You don’t see many guys play like that even in their 30th opportunity or in their whole career. What he is doing is amazing. He answered a lot of questions. There is so much that he is doing that is crazy. I know the hype should go there but we can’t overlook the other guys. Tyson (Chandler) anchoring, Jared (Jeffries) was incredible, Shump (Iman Shumpert) at the end…he held Kobe (Bryant) well. There are so many good things…we are a team. It is great.”

“I don’t know what to tell you. I have never seen this. It is not often that a guy is going to play four games, the best you are going to see, and nobody knows who he is. That is hard to do.”

“I think the beauty of the offense that Coach D’Antoni has created is that something has to give and we will find out what that is from each specific team. In terms of being physical, we are doing a good job of drawing fouls. We are doing a good job of getting to the line pretty early.”

“Definitely part of our game plan (was) to double Kobe (Bryant) and at times double (Andrew) Bynum and (Pau) Gasol as well. He (Kobe Bryant) had a great game but Landry, Shump and Bill did a great job. He had a great game but he had to hit tough shots and we will live with that.”

“I don’t know… I didn’t see 38 coming. He (Jeremy Lin) just has a pace and confidence. He just keeps coming. I haven’t seen anything like this. I didn’t foresee this coming either. I think he’s taken us all by surprise. Not only us, but the league right now…It’s contagious. You just have to love a kid like that. He’s playing with energy.”

“I think it’s the perfect storm. With Coach’s (Mike D’Antoni) offense and you have somebody now that can deliver the rock and put guys back in their natural positions. Then the defense has been playing incredible all year, but our offense was terrible at the beginning of the year. It was hard to get wins. Now we’re moving the ball well, guys are playing with a lot more confidence. And our defense has even picked up.”

Lakers-Knicks Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO

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.

SEASON & SERIES NOTES; CONNECTIONS
The Lakers currently lead their season series with the Knicks 1-0, after sweeping last season’s series with New York 2-0 for the 4th consecutive year. Dating back to the Minneapolis era, this will be the two teams’ 275th meeting and the 184th since the Lakers moved to Los Angeles prior to the 1960-61 season. In their last 10 overall games, the Lakers have gone 9-1 against the Knicks and have won nine straight against New York. At home, the Lakers are 10-3 all-time against the Knicks at STAPLES Center. In New York, the Lakers have gone 8-2 in their last 10 games at Madison Square Garden. On 2/2/09, Kobe Bryant scored a Madison Square Garden record 61 points (19-31 FG) while converting a franchise record for free throws made without a miss (20). Bryant’s 20 free throws without a miss tied for 2nd most in NBA history without a miss behind Dominique Wilkins’ 23-23 effort in December of 1992. It was the 5th time Bryant has scored 40+ points at MSG, with his 61 points surpassing Michael Jordan’s 55-point opponent record and Bernard King’s 60-point building record. On January 31, 2006, the Lakers established a series record for largest margin of victory with a 130-97 win over the Knicks at MSG. In that contest, Bryant led all scorers with 40 points while tying his own franchise record with 23 free throws made. Additionally, Bryant’s 23 made free throws set an MSG record while his 26 attempts tied the building record. In 29 career games (25 starts) against the Knicks, Bryant is averaging 26.6 points. Additionally, Devin Ebanks (born in Queens, NY) is a native of New York while Andrew Bynum is from nearby New Jersey. Ron Artest was born in Queensbridge, NY, teamed with Elton Brand and Maverick’s forward Lamar Odom on the same AAU team in the city as a teenager and attended both high school (La Salle Academy) and college (St. John’s) in New York, NY. Also, Knicks guard Tony Douglas was selected by the Lakers with the 29th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft and was subsequently traded to New York for a future 2nd round draft pick and cash considerations while both Tyson Chandler (Dominguez HS) and Baron Davis (Crossroads HS, UCLA) grew up and played locally in high school/college in the Los Angeles area.

BRYANT PASSES SHAQUILLE O’NEAL FOR 5th ON NBA’S ALL-TIME SCORING LIST
With a 23-foot jumper at the 5:08 mark in the second quarter 2/6 at Philadelphia, Kobe Bryant moved past Shaquille O’Neal (28,596) for fifth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Last season, Kobe Bryant moved past Hall-of-Famers Moses Malone (27,409) 3/8/11 at Atlanta, Elvin Hayes (27,313) 2/27/11 at Oklahoma City, Hakeem Olajuwon (26,946) 1/28/11 vs. Sacramento, Oscar Robertson (26,710) 1/7/11 vs. New Orleans, Dominique Wilkins (26,668) 1/4/11 vs. Detroit and John Havlicek (26,395) 12/10/10 at Chicago on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Next on the all-time list ahead of Bryant (28,601) are Wilt Chamberlain (4th/31,419), Michael Jordan (3rd/32,292), Karl Malone (2nd/36,928) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1st/38,387). Among the top six scorers in NBA history, five have worn the Lakers uniform.

Bryant has been steadily moving up the list over the past few years. In 2009-10, he passed Alex English (25,613), Reggie Miller (25,279), Jerry West (25,192), Patrick Ewing (24,815) and Allen Iverson (24,368). In passing West with a slam dunk at the 4:14 mark of the third quarter February 1, 2010 at Memphis, finishing the game with 44 points (West’s retired number), Bryant became the leading scorer in Lakers franchise history. In 2008-09, Bryant passed Gary Payton (21,813) and Hall-of-Famers Charles Barkley (23,757), Robert Parish (23,334), Adrian Dantley (23,177), Elgin Baylor (23,149), Clyde Drexler (22,195) and Larry Bird (21,791).

BYNUM RECORDS SECOND CAREER 20-20 GAME
On February 6th at Philadelphia, Andrew Bynum totaled 20 points (8-13 FG) and 20 rebounds, marking his second career 20-point, 20-rebound game (3rd career 20+ rebound game). Bynum’s other 20-20 game came earlier this season on January 3rd, when Bynum totaled 21 points (8-15 FG) and 22 rebounds as the Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets 108-99 at STAPLES Center, becoming the youngest Laker to do so (24 years, 68 days) since Rudy LaRuso tallied 30 points and 21 rebounds on February 26, 1961 at the age of 23 years, 107 days. Bynum’s only other 20+ rebound game came on 4/5/11 vs. Utah, when he grabbed a career-high 23 rebounds. The last Laker to record a 20-20 game prior to Bynum was Pau Gasol, who posted 30 points and 20 rebounds on February 16, 2011 at Cleveland.

DOMINATING THE GLASS, BUT LOSING THE GAME
In the Lakers 95-90 loss at Philadelphia on February 6, the Lakers out-rebounded the 76ers 55-30, marking the first time the Lakers lost despite out-rebounding their opponent by 25-plus rebounds since they out-rebounded New Jersey 55-28 in a 109-103 loss to the Nets at STAPLES Center on 1/28/05. The last time any team lost when out-rebounding their opponent by 25-plus rebounds occurred on 3/11/09 at Detroit, when the Pistons out-rebounded New York 64-39, but fell to the Knicks 116-111.

BRYANT NAMED KIA NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE MONTH
On February 3 rd Kobe Bryant was named Western Conference Player of the Month for games played in December and January. The award is Bryant’s 14th Western Conf. Player of the Month honor and 15th Player of the Month award overall. Bryant was also named NBA Player of the Month for December of 2000, a year before the award was divided into Eastern and Western Conferences for the 2001-02 season. Bryant has won multiple Player of the Month awards in a single season four times (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09). Bryant’s previous Western Conference Player of the Month awards came in March 2011, December 2009, January 2009, December 2008, April 2008, February 2008, March of 2007, December 2006, April 2006, January 2006, March 2004, January 2003 and November 2001.

Bryant averaged a league-high 30.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists. On January 1 st at Denver, Bryant became the youngest player in NBA history to score 28,000 points. In a victory over Phoenix on January 10 th , Bryant scored an NBA season-high 48 points, kicking off four straight 40+ point games over a five night span. Bryant also achieved a couple of Lakers milestones, surpassing Jerry West as the Lakers franchise leader in free throws made on January 28 th at Milwaukee, then one night later, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the franchise leader in field goals made in a win at Minnesota.

GONE FOR THE GRAMMY’S
On Thursday, February 2nd, the Lakers headed to Denver, embarking on their annual Grammy’s Trip. Since STAPLES Center opened prior to the 1999-2000 season, the venue has been host to the Grammy Awards each winter, with the exception of the 2003 Grammy Awards, which were held at Madison Square Garden

KOBE BRYANT AND ANDREW BYNUM VOTED ALL-STAR STARTERS
IN 2012 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING PRESENTED BY SPRINT
On February 2nd, the NBA announced that Kobe Bryant is this year’s leading vote-getter in the Western Conference in the 2012 All-Star Balloting program presented by Sprint with 1,555,479 votes, ranking second league-wide behind Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard (1,600,390). This marks Bryant’s 14th consecutive All-Star selection, matching Jerry West, Karl Malone and Shaquille O’Neal as the only players in NBA history to be selected that many times consecutively (14 times each). In league history, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19), O’Neal (15), Michael Jordan (14), Malone (14) and West (14) have had as many or more NBA All-Star selections. Andrew Bynum, a first-time All-Star and now the 29th Laker in franchise history to be named to an All-Star team, led all Western Conference centers with 1,051,945 votes. Pau Gasol (470,353), who made his fourth All-Star team last season as a reserve (2006, 2009, 2010, 2011), finished 3rd among forwards in the West behind Kevin Durant (1,345,566) and Blake Griffin (876,451). Chris Paul (1,138,743) will start at guard alongside Bryant in the West. Starting alongside Howard in the East are LeBron James (1,360,680) and Carmelo Anthony (1,041,290) at forward and Derrick Rose (1,514,723) and Dwyane Wade (1,334,223) in the backcourt.

This marks the fifth straight season that Bryant has led the Western Conference in all-star balloting. Last season, Bryant, who was the youngest All-Star in NBA history in 1998, received 2,380,016 votes to lead all players in balloting, the second time in his career he has done so (2003). In 2009-10, Bryant received 2,456,224 votes, finishing second overall to Cleveland’s LeBron James (2,549,693). In 2008-09, he accumulated 2,805,397 votes, finishing third in overall balloting behind Dwight Howard (3,150,181) and James (2,940,823). In 2007-08, Bryant garnered 2,004,940 votes to finish fourth in overall voting behind Kevin Garnett (2,399,148), James (2,108,831) and Howard (2,066,991). In 2006-07, when he earned his second All-Star MVP, Bryant finished third overall in balloting behind James and Yao Ming. A four-time All-Star MVP (2002 Philadelphia, 2007 Las Vegas, 2009 Phoenix, 2011 Los Angeles), Bryant is now a 14-time All-Star and had started 11 consecutive All-Star games before missing the 2009-10 contest due to a sprained left ankle.

LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS
Leading for all but 26 seconds of their January 29th victory at Minnesota, the Lakers managed their second road win of the season despite not recording a single steal for only the second time in franchise history. The only other game in which the Lakers did not record a steal came in a January 7, 2005 victory over Houston (111-104). Since the steals statistic began being compiled prior to the 1973-74 season, this was the 47th time a team has not recorded a single steal in a game. With the lack of steals, the Lakers saw the Timberwolves match an opponent franchise record for fewest turnovers in a game (4), originally established in a 108-114 loss 114 loss 12/21/01 at Memphis.

BRYANT BECOMES FRANCHISE LEADER IN FREE THROWS
MADE & FIELD GOALS MADE ON BACK-TO-BACK NIGHTS
With a free throw at the 6:34 mark in the third quarter 1/28/12 at Milwaukee, Kobe Bryant surpassed Jerry West (7,160 FTM) as the Lakers franchise leader in free throws made. The following night, on a driving reverse layup with 4:52 remaining in the first half 1/29/12 at Minnesota, Bryant passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (9,935 FGM) as the franchise leader in field goals made. Bryant now holds Lakers franchise records for points, field goals made and attempted, free throws made, three-point field goals made and attempted, games played and minutes played while ranking second in steals and free throws attempted and third in assists.

THE CENTURY MARK
Having gone 7-6 over a 13-game span from 1/5 at Portland thru 1/28 at Milwaukee, the common denominator in each contest, win or lose, was that the Lakers scored fewer than 100 points. The 13-game run of sub 100-point scoring games is the longest streak in franchise history since the introduction of the shot clock prior to the 1954-55 season. Prior to the aforementioned streak, the Lakers scored fewer than 100 points in 12 consecutive games during the 2003-04 season when Los Angeles went 12 games from 1/12/04 - 2/2/04 without hitting triple digits; the Lakers went 6-6 during the stretch of games, eventually scoring 111 points in a 111-106 overtime victory 2/4/04 at Cleveland. The Lakers finished that season with a 98.2 point per game scoring average while limiting their opponents to 94.3 points per game, ultimately winning the West before falling to the Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals. The 98.2 ppg scoring average is the lowest for a Lakers team in the Los Angeles era. In the shot clock era, only the 1954-55 Lakers have averaged fewer points per game in a season (95.6 ppg). Additionally, the only other Lakers 10-game run without scoring at least 100 points in a game came in 2002 (11/3/02 – 11/22/02), with the Lakers going 3-7 during that stretch.