ATS Consultants posted on February 21, 2012 10:38
Deron Williams might have started "Linsanity" but may have ended it on Monday night.
Well, that might be stretching it as Williams scored a season-high 38 points to lead New Jersey to a 100-92 win over the NY Knicks. Williams sorely outplayed Lin and his teammates.
Lin began his run against New Jersey, but Williams and the Nets were geared up this time for him and Carmelo Anthony, who returned to the Knicks lineup after missing seven games with a strained right groin.
Lin finished with 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, but Williams outscored him 36-11 through three quarters, when the Nets led by 18. Lin shot only 7 of 18 and the Knicks lost for the second time in 10 games since his emergence against the Nets on Feb. 4.
Anthony shot 4 of 11 and scored 11 points.
Williams scored 18 in the third quarter, including 12 straight Nets points during one surge. Clearly amped up for the rematch -- maybe too much so, because he fouled out with 3:07 left -- he skipped across the court with three fingers in the air after burying a second straight 3-pointer during his blistering stretch.
MarShon Brooks had 18 points as the Nets, playing their third game in three nights, surprised a crowd looking for a repeat of their last trip across the Hudson River.
New Jersey shut down a Knicks offense that rang up 104 points against the defending champion Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, when Lin had 28 points and a career-best 14 assists.
But Williams was locked in this time, and the U.S. Olympian could've gone for plenty more if not for spending most of the fourth quarter on the bench in foul trouble. But by then he had the Nets too far ahead for the Knicks to catch.
Williams, who shot 7 of 19 in the first meeting, made eight 3-pointers and was 10 of 22 overall on Monday.
The Knicks (16-17) had their five-game winning streak against the Nets snapped and failed again to move back over .500.
Baron Davis had three points in 9 minutes in his Knicks debut after overcoming a herniated disk in his back. Expected to be the starter whenever he became available, he'll be Backup Baron as long as Lin keeps it up.
The Knicks were 8-15, coming off losses on consecutive nights, and had already fallen into a double-digit hole against the Nets on Feb. 4 when Lin got his chance, coming off the bench for 25 points in a 99-92 victory.