Before Jeremy Lin’s stellar performance in the Knicks’ victory over the Nets at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, he was still very much a novelty: only the fourth American-born Asian to play in the N.B.A., the player from Harvard who had been sent packing by the Rockets and the Warriors for salary-cap reasons.
Now, after he dominated the Nets with a career-high 25 points and 7 assists, it will be harder for the novelty of his sudden success to wear off.
Lin has never had a game like he did Saturday, which came against the Nets, who have the N.B.A.’s worst-rated defense. Lin’s previous career-high was 13 points in a 28-point loss to the Lakers in November 2010.
“We tried to give him different looks on our pick-and-roll coverage, but he just had a terrific game,” Nets Coach Avery Johnson said.
Lin set career-highs Saturday night in more than half of the individual statistics tracked on NBA.com, including attempts for field goals, free throws, and 3-pointers. He played 16 minutes more than his previous season high of 20 against the Rockets, and only twice this season has he seen double-digit minutes.
Nets point guard Deron Williams answered the first question asked of him Saturday night about the struggles of Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire with: “You got Jeremy Lin.”
