Looks like the legend of Lin grows a little more. One night after defeating Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in New York, the Knicks went on the road to face the Timberwolves. Billed as a battle between dynamic point guards Ricky Rubio and Jeremy Lin, neither player was spectacular. But the Knicks and Lin were able to do just enough to win their fifth-straight game, defeating Minnesota, 100-98. Instead of heroics by Lin, this game was defined by the role his teammates played in the win.
Trailing for much of the game, the Knicks were able to tie the game with just 36 seconds left to play on a three-pointer by Steve Novak. Lin managed to score the game winning point at the charity stripe, but it was Minnesota that gave the game away. The T-Wolves only scored 11-points in the 4th quarter and missed two opportunities to win the game in the final seconds. Lin finished the game with 20-points (8-24 from the field and 4-7 at the free throw line), 8 assists and 6 rebounds while Iman Shumpert also had 20 points. Kevin Love had 32-points and a whopping 21 rebounds for Minnesota. The Knicks are off until Tuesday when they should see the return of Amare Stoudemire in Toronto. Stoudemire has been mourning the death of his brother.
It doesn't matter where they play because when the Rangers take on the Flyers the Rangers win. Saturday was another dominant performance by New York as they rode a Ryan Callahan hat trick to a 5-2 victory. Both teams showed their hatred for the other as they combined to commit 110 minutes of penalties with several fights and multiple ejections. Marian Gaborik added four assists for New York.
Mark Streit got a backhander past Jonathan Quick in overtime to give the Islanders a 2-1 victory. Evgeni Nabokov had another strong game in the pipes as he stopped 34-of-35 shots to earn the win.
The Devils scored in the first two minutes of the game, but it was all downhill from there as they fell to Florida 3-1. New Jersey outshot the Panthers 28-20, but Scott Clemmensen kept New Jersey from doing further damage.
No surprise in New Jersey as the Spurs defeated the Nets 103-89. Deron Williams led all scorers with 27-points for the Nets, who have lost six in a row.
