New Orleans Hornets slow down Jeremy Lin; stop New York Knicks with 89 – 85 win – NBA Recap
The New Orleans Hornets on Friday put a stop to the Jeremy Lin juggernaut as they defeated the New York Knicks 89 – 85. Since Lin’s emergence, the Knicks have been pretty much unstoppable but the Hornets did a good job at the Madison Square Garden, making
things difficult for the rising star and handing his team their first loss in a while.
Lin still managed to score 26 points but they came off 18 shots while he also had 9 turnovers, the highest in the game.
"It was just a lacklustre effort on my part coming out and [being] careless with the ball. Nine turnovers is obviously never gonna get it done from your primary ball-handler. It's on me in terms of taking care of the ball and the game in general. If everyone's
going to credit me for these last seven games, then I definitely deserve this one. So that's fine by me." A disappointed Lin said after the game.
Amar’e Stoudemire played pretty well for New York, scoring 26 points and grabbing 12 boards while Tyson Chandler also had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. It was clear though that New York could have used star forward Carmelo Anthony on the
court tonight, who has been out injured and expected to make a comeback soon.
Trevor Ariza led the successful charge for New Orleans. He scored a team high 25 points and had 8 rebounds. The Hornets had decent contributions from all their starters.
Marco Belinelli scored 17; Chris Kaman netted 12, Gustavo Ayon 13 while Greivis Vasquez had 15 and 11 assists for a double-double.
"We're a fighting team," Hornets coach Monty Williams said, gushing praise for his team. "We have a little bit of grit about us. It's too bad you don't have a stat for heart and intensity because we'd be at the top of the league."
The Hornets were up for the game and it showed from their blistering 12 – 4 start. They never let the Knicks get a shout in the first quarter and ended it with an 8 – 0 burst, score 27 – 13.
New York initiated a comeback with an 8 – 2 spurt to start the second period. They were the aggressors throughout and a 6 – 0 run near the end put them close, 39 – 37. That’s how far as they went however and the Hornets went into halftime at top, 43 – 39.
The home crowd might have expected a Knicks’ resurgence after the interval, but it never materialized. The Hornets were able not only to hold New York for 19 points in the 3rd frame; they also increased their advantage by scoring 25.
When the final period began, Hornets were in a commanding position at 68 – 58. The Knicks had an early 7 – 0 burst that gave them a glimmer of hope, and when a 5 – 0 spurt brought them to 73 – 71, the arena was buzzing with anticipation.
A final push never came though, and the Hornets were able to ride through the storm, finishing the game 89 – 85.
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