Lin sparks Knicks to 7th NBA win in a row

Jeremy Lin described his first fortnight in the NBA as “crazy” after yet another match winning performance for New York.

Lin passed off 13 assists as the Knicks stretched their NBA winning streak to seven games with a 100-83 victory over Sacramento on Wednesday.

He has averaged 23.3 points and 7.4 assists in his first five games, the top scoring total by any player since 1976 in his first five starts, a run to outdo such stars as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal.

The first US-born NBA player of Taiwanese and Chinese heritage scored 10 points against Sacramento, but this time it was his career high 13 assists that played a crucial role in the game.

`Linsanity’ continued at Madison Square Garden, with Knicks supporters chanting “M-V-P” while Lin spoke to the crowd after the victory.

“It’s just crazy,” Lin said of his fairytale NBA fortnight.

“We just came out with a lot of energy. Now we are riding the momentum. It has been fun.”

Landry Fields scored 15 points to lead the Knicks while Steve Novak and Bill Walker added 14 each, Amare Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert added 11 each and Jared Jeffries joined Lin on 10 points.

“I just tried to move the ball around,” Lin said.

“When we have guys like Amare and Landry, I just throw the ball up and they go and get it. They make me look good.”

Knicks coach Mark D’Antoni was impressed that Lin showed he could adapt his game to a supporting role when needed as well as a playmaker role.

“That’s where he will make his most progress, just reading the situation, finding the scorer and scoring,” D’Antoni said.

“I’m really happy — 10 points, 13 assists, that’s great.”

D’Antoni was not worried about how Lin might be challenged physically during the stress of a 66-game NBA season compressed into four months due to a lockout last year.

“He’s 23 years old. He should be able to go forever,” D’Antoni said.

Lin, a Harvard University economics graduate, was cut by Golden State and Houston last December before being picked up by the Knicks.

With Stoudemire absent following the death of his brother in a car crash and Carmelo Anthony sidelined by a groin injury, the Knicks turned to Lin last week on an emergency basis and he has responded in amazing fashion.

Stay up to date with the latest sports news
Follow our social accounts to get exclusive content and all the latest sporting news!