Notebook: Knicks 99, Nets 92

By Joshua Newman, for NBA.com
Posted Saturday February 4, 2012 11:40PM

THE FACTS: Unheralded backup point guard Jeremy Lin came off the bench to score a career-high 25 points to go along with seven assists and five rebounds in a career-best 36 minutes as the New York Knicks snapped a two-game skid with a 99-92 victory over the New Jersey Nets at Madison Square Garden. Lin, a former Ivy League star at Harvard, led four players in double figures as Amar'e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler each scored 17 points, while Carmelo Anthony added 11.

QUOTABLE: "We've seen bits and pieces and sometimes, I thought he was trying to do a little too much. We told him to do what he does, but don't try to do everything. The biggest thing is he has a point guard's mentality."
-- Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni on Lin's career night.

THE STAT: Lin scored 12 of his 25 points and shot 5-for-7 from the floor in the fourth quarter when the Knicks took control for good after trailing, 72-70, through three quarters of a back-and-forth affair that saw the Nets lead by as many as 12 and the Knicks lead by as many as 11.

TURNING POINT: With the game tied at 82-all midway through the fourth quarter, the Knicks ripped off a 15-4 run to take a 97-86 lead with 1:36 to play. Lin scored nine points during that spurt, capped by a driving layup through the teeth of the defense that brought the Garden crowd to its collective feet.

QUOTABLE II: "This night, it hasn't really sunk in yet to be honest. I'm still kind of in shock about everything that happened. I'm just trying to soak it all in."
-- Lin, who addressed a pack of media members that went five-deep at his locker after the game.

HOT: Jared Jeffries turned in what was by far his best game this season as he scored nine points to go along with a season-high 10 rebounds in 31 minutes of work. This was Jeffries' first 10-rebound game since April 6, 2010 when he was with the Houston Rockets.

NOT: The emergence of Lin coincides with the on-going reduction in the minutes and role played by Toney Douglas. The opening night starter at point guard, Douglas played just 13 minutes against the Nets after playing only eight minutes on Friday at the Celtics and just 15 minutes on Thursday against the Bulls at the Garden.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira sat courtside.

ROOKIE WATCH: Nets forward Jordan Williams has seen a bit of an expanded role in back-to-back games against the Timberwolves and Knicks and he has not disappointed. After scoring nine points to go along with eight rebounds in 20 minutes against the Timberwolves, the 6-foot-10 Maryland product scored 10 points against the Knicks in 26 minutes. Williams came into the night averaging just 2.4 points per game.

NOTABLE: Thanks to the huge night from Lin, the Knicks' bench outscored the Nets' bench, 46-34, on the night. The Knicks have only outscored the opposition's bench nine times this season as they move to 4-5 when they do.

UP NEXT: For the Knicks, Monday vs. Jazz, Wednesday @ Wizards, Friday vs. Lakers. For the Nets, Monday vs. Bulls, Wednesday vs. Pistons, Friday at Pistons.