New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin will miss Monday night's game against the Milwaukee Bucks due to a knee injury. It's the first game he has missed wearing a Knicks uniform because of injury.
Knicks head coach Mike Woodson announced an hour and a half before tipoff at New York's Madison Square Garden that Lin would not play in the game due to a sore left knee. Lin participated in the team's shoot around Monday, but after consultation with team officials the decision was made for him to sit out Monday's 7:30 p.m. ET game.
"I was a mutual decision," said Lin, in a pregame interview Monday on MSG Network. "I want to make sure when I come back that I'm 100 percent."
He dressed out for the game and sat on the sideline in full uniform but Woodson said he will not play.
Lin is listed as day-to-day with the injury, and is likely to play in Wednesday night's game against Orlando. Lin, the Knicks' starting point guard, is averaging 14.6 points and 6.1 assists per game and has helped the Knicks get into playoff contention since he joined the regular lineup. Lin sat out the fourth quarter of Saturday's win over the Detroit Pistons due to the injury.
Woodson and the Knicks (24-25) are more concerned with an injury to forward Amare Stoudemire. Woodson announced Monday that Stoudemire had undergone a magnetic resonance imaging exam after suffering a sore lower back and that the MRI had revealed a bulging disc in his back. Stoudemire will not play against Milwaukee Monday and is listed is out indefinitely.
The 6-foot-10 forward is averaging 17.6 points and 8 rebounds a game for the Knicks.
"You don't wish it on any player," Woodson said of Stoudemire's injury, according to The New York Times. "All we can do is hope it's not as serious as it might be and wish for a speedy recovery."
Stoudemire injured his back last season in the playoffs and struggled during the off-season to get back into playing condition. The injuries come at a crucial time for the Knicks in the homestretch of the regular season as the team fights for a playoff spot. The Knicks have a game-and-a-half lead over the Bucks for the Eastern Conference's eighth and final playoff position at this point in the season.