ATS Consultants posted on February 18, 2012 00:27
It had to stop at some point. But against the New Orleans Hornets at home?
Jeremy Lin couldn't carry the Knicks to an eighth straight win and struggled once again with turnovers.
Lin committed nine turnovers, tied for the most in the NBA this season, and New winning streak was stopped 89-85 by the New Orleans Hornets.
Lin scored 26 points, but the Knicks lost for the first time with Lin as a starter, falling back below .500 at 15-16 heading into a matchup with the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.
Trevor Ariza scored 25 points for the Hornets, who have won three in a row after a 4-23 start. Marco Belinelli added 17.
Amare Stoudemire had 26 points and 12 rebounds for New York.
Playing for the sixth straight game without injured All-Star Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks missed 20 of their 24 3-point attempts, were only 19 of 29 on free throws and were flat early, quieting a crowd that has been buzzing since Lin joined the rotation.
Down by 12 early in the fourth, the Knicks made a run with Lin on the bench, and cut it to 73-71 when Jared Jeffries hit a free throw after Lin returned during a timeout with 5:29 left.
The Knicks were 8-15 when coach Mike D'Antoni finally turned to Lin, the undrafted point guard from Harvard who was perhaps days from being cut for the third time this season when he got this sputtering team on track.