Jeremy Lin fires again as the New York Knicks defeat Dallas Mavericks 104 – 97 – NBA Recap
The New York Knicks once again had sensational young star Jeremy Lin to thank as they picked up a win against the reigning NBA World Champions, the Dallas Mavericks. The Knicks grabbed a 104 – 97 win at the Madison Square Garden after a topsy-turvy game
and a surge in the final quarter.
Lin was terrific yet again for the Knicks as he scored 28 points, team high, and dished out a career high 14 assists to lead New York to victory. The Mavericks failed to produce an answer for Linsanity and left the arena impressed.
"He looks a little bit like Steve Nash out there," Jason Kidd, the legendary Dallas point guard said, drawing comparisons between Lin and the two-time NBA MVP of the Phoenix Suns.
Jeremy was more focused on the performance of his team and what it meant for them to record a victory over the reigning NBA World Champions.
"They're obviously a great defensive team, a great team altogether. You can't just win a championship by not being a great defensive team. We came out and we moved the ball and we had a lot of people that contributed tonight. Across the board the efficiency
was there from everybody. When you play like that on offense and you have a lot of weapons, something's going to open up, something's going to give."
The Knicks indeed had a great all-round display with 5 players, apart from Lin, getting into double figures. These included Amar’e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, Steve Novak, J.R. Smith and Landry Fields.
The Mavericks were carried by reigning NBA Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki, who scored a game high 34 points, including a devastating 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Shawn Marion, with 14 points, and Jason Terry, with 13 off the bench, were also made it into double
digits for Dallas.
The first quarter was largely even at the beginning but slowly the Mavericks started to pull away, going up 18 – 13 with 5:31 left on the clock. The Knicks however responded with a 17 – 0 blitz, capped off by a Lin 3-pointer, to completely change the complexion
of the game. The quarter finished with the home side on top 32 – 20.
Mavericks were able to make significant inroads in the following period. They used all their nous and experience to hold the Knicks to just 16 points while scoring 25 themselves. Therefore, at halftime, the game was finely poised at 48 – 45 to New York.
Dallas carried the momentum into the second half and were hot coming out of the interval. Early in the 3rd quarter they had an 11 – 0 burst that put them in a commanding position at 60 – 53. The Mavs had a double digit lead near the end of the
frame but a 7 – 0 spurt by the Knicks mean that they went into the final period with a slender lead of 75 – 72.
The Knicks, buoyed by a vibrant home crowd, went on the offensive in the last stanza. They bombarded the Mavs early on and a 12 – 1 run gave them the lead at 90 – 81. The Mavericks fought ferociously till the end, and came close on more than one occasion,
but the Knicks were able to hold on for the 104 – 97 win.
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