Jeremy Lin led the Knicks with 19 points on Saturday as New York beat the Indiana Pacers 102-88 to improve to 3-0 since interim coach Mike Woodson took the helm of the NBA team.
Lin, who emerged as an NBA sensation under former Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni last month, added seven rebounds and six assists as he proved he can continue to thrive under the Woodson regime.
Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire scored 16 points apiece, while J.R. Smith chipped in with 11 for the Knicks, who notched just their eighth road victory of the lockout-shortened season.
Photo: EPA
The victory followed their 115-100 triumph over the Pacers at Madison Square Garden in New York on Friday night.
Since Woodson took over following D’Antoni’s abrupt departure last week, the Knicks have won three games by an average of 23.7 points.
While much had been made of how Woodson might change the Knicks’ offensive system — and how point guard Lin would fit in — an increased focus on defense has been the most noticeable change.
After a high-scoring first quarter, the Knicks gave up just 53 points over the final three periods.
“I think we came out a little flat, gave them 35 points in first quarter,” Lin said. “So we talked about the rotations being a step late, we tried to focus on that.”
Roy Hibbert scored 24 points with 12 rebounds and Paul George added 18 for the Pacers, who made only four of 15 shots from the floor in the final period.
For Woodson, it was a victorious homecoming to a city where he was once a high school star.
However, after the Knicks’ big win on Friday, he knew Pacers fans wouldn’t be welcoming.
“It’s going to be a hostile environment in here,” Woodson said prior to the contest.
“Our guys should be excited about a game like this. We’re still trying to stay in the hunt. We made some strides the last two games. We’ve just got to take it a game at a time and keep going,” he said.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2