20 Feb 2012

Lin-mania resumes as Knicks beat Mavs in NBA

3:09 pm on 20 February 2012

Basketball's new sensation Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks rebounded from the first loss of the point guard's magical run to defeat the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks 104-97 yesterday.

Just two days after committing a season-high nine turnovers in a loss to New Orleans, 23-year-old Lin finished with a team-high 28 points, 14 assists and five steals as the Knicks beat Dallas at Madison Square Garden for the first time in over six years.

The Knick's Jeremy Lin era got its launch when the former part-time player was called upon with two starters missing and the Chinese-American star answered with the most points of any NBA player in his first five starts since the NBA and ABA merged in 1976.

Lin's fairy-tale rise to fame is further enhanced because he was cut by two clubs before the season started.

New York had its season-high seven-game win streak come to an end with Friday's loss to the Hornets as Lin suffered his first defeat as a member of the starting squad.

Lin is averaging 22.5 points and 10.2 assists in his past five games.