Lin fights through fatigue to lift Knicks to fifth straight win

By Chris Bernucca Feb 12, 2012, 6:24 GMT

Los Angeles - Worn down by a heavy schedule and his sudden stardom, Jeremy Lin still had enough to lift the New York Knicks to another win.

An exhausted Lin had 20 points, eight assists and the go-ahead free throw with 4.9 seconds left Saturday night as the Knicks rallied for their season-high fifth straight win, a 100-98 victory over the host Minnesota Timberwolves.

It was the fifth straight game with at least 20 points and seven assists for Lin, an unheralded journeyman point guard who has salvaged New York's season. He showed signs of fatigue by shooting 8-of-24 with six turnovers but outplayed Spanish rookie sensation Ricky Rubio and continued the most unlikely story of the NBA season.

'Tomorrow is an off day and I can't wait,' said Lin, who made just 1-of-13 shots in the second half.

'You could tell how tired he was,' said Knicks forward Steve Novak, who scored 15 points. 'But he didn't play outside himself.'

Playing their seventh game in 10 days, the Knicks faced a 94-88 deficit with just over three minutes to go. But Lin found Novak for a three-pointer and Landry Fields for a basket before rookie Iman Shumpert's jumper gave New York a 95-94 lead with 1:23 to play.

'I thought we picked up our intensity,' Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said. 'Our guys just kept fighting and pecking away at it.'

Two free throws by All-Star Kevin Love and a drive by Rubio gave the Timberwolves a 98-95 lead with 39 seconds left. But Novak drilled another three-pointer to tie it and Rubio committed a turnover before Lin was fouled on a drive.

Lin missed the first free throw but made the second to give the Knicks the lead for good.

'Once I missed the first one I was fine,' he said. 'I just needed to get it out of the way.'

After a timeout, Rubio dribbled the ball off his foot and out of bounds. Minnesota fouled Bill Walker, who split two free throws to give the Knicks a 100-98 edge with 1.3 seconds remaining.

Love, who had 32 points and 21 rebounds, missed a three-pointer from the corner at the buzzer.

Rubio, whose play also has created a buzz this season, had 12 points and eight assists while primarily matched up against Lin. But he made just 5-of-15 shots and both of his turnovers came in the final minute.

'I just made two huge mistakes,' Rubio said. 'I have to learn from that.'

'(Rubio) gave me a really hard time,' Lin said. 'He did a really good job defensively and forced me into a couple of turnovers.'

Shumpert scored 20 points, Fields added 19 and Tyson Chandler 12 for the Knicks (13-15), who again won without stars Carmelo Anthony (groin) and Amar'e Stoudemire (family death).

'This is one of those games that can change your season around and propel you in the right direction,' Chandler said.

Montenegro's Nikola Pekovic had 21 points and 13 rebounds and Puerto Rico's J.J. Barea scored 12 points for the Timberwolves (13-15), who have lost three in a row.

Dallas 97, Portland 94 (2OT) =

German juggernaut Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points, including a clutch jumper with 16 seconds left that gave the host Mavericks their third straight win. LaMarcus Aldridge had 33 points and 12 boards for the Trail Blazers.

San Antonio 103, New Jersey 89 =

Gary Neal paced a balanced attack with 18 points and the visiting Spurs welcomed back Argentine star Manu Ginobili, who had missed 22 games with a broken hand. The Nets have lost six in a row.

LA Clippers 111, Charlotte 86 =

The Clippers handed the host Bobcats their 14th straight loss as Blake Griffin had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Chris Paul added 18 and 14 assists.

Philadelphia 99, Cleveland 84 =

Jrue Holiday scored 20 points to lead six players in double figures as the visiting 76ers handled the Cavaliers, who were without injured rookie sensation Kyrie Irving and Brazilian Anderson Varejao.

Denver 113, Indiana 109 =

Ty Lawson scored a season-high 27 points for the visiting Nuggets, who stopped a five-game skid. The Pacers have lost a season-high three in a row.

Orlando 99, Milwaukee 94 =

Jason Richardson scored 31 points, including four three-pointers in a 16-0 fourth-quarter run, as the visiting Magic rallied late. Turkey's Ersan Ilyasova had 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Bucks.

Phoenix 98, Sacramento 84 =

Jared Dudley had 20 points and 10 rebounds to lift the visiting Suns to their fourth win in five games.