Maybe Jeremy Lin spilled the beans on the New York Knicks' playbook as the Houston Rockets dominated Monday night in a 109-96 victory in Madison Square Garden. With the loss, the Knicks snapped their 10-game win streak thanks to Lin and James Harden.
It wasn't Linsanity all over again, but Lin scored 22 points on his former team on his former floor and for the second time this season, the Knicks were beaten badly by the Rockets.
Harden scored 28 points and finished with a double-double after grabbing 10 rebounds. Lin added eight assists, four rebounds and two steals as they gave the Knicks their first home loss of the year.
After the game, Lin told the guys from NBA TV, " It was good to be back. It felt comfortable, a lot of good memories here. Going out there I told myself, 'I'm going to be free. I'm going to have fun. I'm going to play for God and let everything happen the way it's supposed to happen.'"
More impressively for Lin, he went 9/15 from the floor for a very efficient shooting night. Lin's shooting percentage sits just under 40 percent. However, on Monday, Lin's shooting percentage was 56 percent. Overall, Lin's Monday night numbers were above average, meaning he was able to turn his game up a notch when it mattered most.
Needless to say, if Lin continues having shooting nights like this, the Rockets will have no problem competing in the Western Conference. After Monday's game, the Rockets are right at .500 with a 12-12 record and sitting 9th in the conference standings.
Lost in the Lin return story and Rocket win was the Knicks' Chris Copeland scoring a game-high and career-high 29 points. Though Carmelo Anthony, who was out again with an ankle injury, is irreplaceable, Copeland kept the Knicks alive throughout the game, but the Rockets were too good once again.
Next on the Rockets' schedule are the Philadelphia 76ers. Meanwhile, the Knicks will have another inner city battle with the Brooklyn Nets. Both teams are off Tuesday and active Wednesday.
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