Perhaps this is the start of Linsanity II.
Taiwanese-American Hornets guard Jeremy Lin is heating up and surging Charlotte is blazing a trail to their second playoff appearance in three seasons under coach Steve Clifford.
Lin scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter on Monday to lead the Hornets back from a 23-point deficit to beat San Antonio — the largest lead surrendered by the Spurs in the Tim Duncan era. Lin followed that with another strong performance on Tuesday night, scoring 21 points in a win over Brooklyn.
Photo: AFP
Michael Jordan’s Hornets (41-30) now find themselves in a three-way tie with Boston and Atlanta for the fourth best record in the Eastern Conference, just a half-game behind third place Miami.
Lin is a major reason why.
Acquired in the off-season via free agency, Lin is averaging 11.8 points and 2.9 assists per game for the Hornets in a reserve role.
Ordinary numbers compared with his history, but he has stepped up his play the past two games, hitting 63 percent (19 of 30) from the field, including five of six from beyond the arc. He is scoring in a variety of ways — long jumpers, drives to basket and on fast breaks. He has also added nine rebounds and six assists, while providing a spark coming off the bench.
“He’s been phenomenal,” Hornets point guard Kemba Walker said.
When the Hornets trailed 30-7 to the Spurs in the second quarter, it was Lin who helped turn the momentum providing energy off the bench. He penetrated into the lane, which in turned opened up the offense.
“Jeremy was the catalyst,” Clifford said. “In the first quarter, we were just shooting. The ball wasn’t getting into the paint. And he got the ball going to the basket.”
Lin hit three-pointers in the fourth quarter and a 16-foot fall away jumper with 48 seconds left to give the Hornets the lead for good.
He said the win over the Spurs was a confidence-builder for him.
“I think being comfortable and not thinking as much on the court and letting the ball fly and having fun,” Lin said of the difference in his game. “Shots are going in and I think that helps me, helps open up my drive.”
Forward Nicolas Batum said Lin has been “huge” for the Hornets.
“He did it [Monday] night in the second quarter to give us life, and he did it again [Tuesday] night,” Batum said. “I don’t think we would have won that game if he didn’t step up again for us.”
Lin is no stranger to carrying a team.
He did so back in 2012, when as an unheralded player out of Harvard he took Madison Square Garden by storm with a series of outstanding games for the New York Knicks. He became an international sensation, and wound up on Time magazine’s list of Top 100 most influential people of the year.
The media attention is not what it was in New York, but three teams later, Lin appears to have found a home in Charlotte, where he says: “I love playing with this group of guys.”
Charlotte have won 17 of their past 21 games to break free from the pack in the East and vault into playoff contention.
Once a team that viewed simply making the playoffs as a goal, the Hornets now have a realistic shot to host a playoff series.
“We learned a lot about ourselves, and we just want to keep seeing what we can do,” Lin said. “That’s what coach has always been telling us. We don’t know what our ceiling is and we don’t want to say what our ceiling is because we don’t know. We’re just going to keep fighting, keep playing and stick with the process.”
TIGHT GAME: The Detroit Pistons, the NBA’s second-best team, barely outlasted the Washington Wizards, who fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss Cade Cunningham’s triple double, Daniss Jenkins’ three-pointer at the buzzer and Javonte Green’s overtime dunk lifted Detroit past Washington 137-135 on Monday, stretching the Pistons’ win streak to seven games. In an unexpected thriller, the NBA’s second-best team barely outlasted a Wizards club that fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss. “We knew how big this game was for us,” Jenkins said. “We wasn’t going to let nothing stop us from getting this W.” Cunningham made 14-of-45 shots and 16-of-18 free throws for a career-high 46 points, and added 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals and two
LIKE FINE WINE: Thirty-eight-year-old Djokovic won his 101st title of his career in Athens, becoming the oldest tournament winner since Ken Roswell, 44, in 1977 Elena Rybakina on Saturday clinched her biggest title since Wimbledon in 2022, defeating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6 (7/0) at the WTA Finals in Riyadh. The world No. 6 put on yet another serving masterclass and was at her returning best as she became the first Kazakh and the first player representing an Asian country to lift the WTA Finals singles trophy. Having gone 3-0 in round-robin play, Rybakina earned a record US$5.235 million and would finish the year ranked No. 5 in the world. “It’s been an incredible week, I honestly didn’t expect any result, and to go so far,
EMPTY STANDS: Maccabi fans were banned from attending by police, who cited violence and hate crimes when the team played Ajax in Amsterdam last season Aston Villa beat Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0 on Thursday in a Europa League game played amid heightened security measures, with more than 700 police officers deployed to deal with possible protests. Morgan Rogers put through Ian Maatsen in first-half stoppage time for the defender to score from a tight angle and Villa doubled the lead on the hour with Donyell Malen hitting the bottom corner from the penalty spot. It was Villa’s third win from games in the competition. The game at Villa Park had become the center of a political debate after Maccabi fans were banned from attending, as
Bjorn Werner on Saturday signed everything thrust in front of him by NFL fans who packed a Berlin plaza. His old Indianapolis Colts jersey — it is a best-seller in Germany — footballs, scarves, miniature helmets. Even a cleat. Werner’s NFL career ended after three seasons because of injuries, but he has become a star in his home country as a TV commentator and media personality. He cohosts a popular podcast, has a big social media presence and is credited with helping popularize the sport in Germany. As the former first-round draft pick waded through throngs of fans, he looked around and took
RSS