NBA

Lin says he didn’t ask Rockets for more money

Jeremy Lin says not to blame him for the surprisingly quick end to his Knicks career.

In an interview with the San Jose Mercury News, Lin said he had nothing to do with the Rockets’ decision to restructure their offer sheet with Lin, which raised the value of the contract’s third year to just under $15 million and ultimately led the Knicks to decide to decline to match the three-year, $25.1 million offer.

“I didn’t go back to them and ask for more money,” Lin told the newspaper. “It wasn’t like they gave me the choice to sign one of the two and I chose the one that would hurt the Knicks. I had one contract offer. That was it.”

After getting cut by the Warriors and Rockets after the lockout ended last winter, Lin went from the end of the Knicks’ bench to leading the team on a seven-game winning streak and the creation of “Linsanity.” He became a global star in the process after finishing with at least 20 points and seven assists in every game during that stretch of seven games, including scoring 38 points in a victory over the Lakers at the Garden and hitting a game-winning 3-pointer in Toronto against the Raptors.

Not surprisingly, Lin said he was affected by everything going on around him during his meteoric rise to stardom during that three-week stretch last February.

“If I’m being honest, in some ways, yes,” Lin said. “I fought it every day. But I think subconsciously it had its effect, everything catering to you. People were saying only good things for so long that when people said negative stuff, it was like, ‘Whoa, what’s going on?’ ”

Lin also said he’s prepared for people to always question his abilities, even after his sensational run last season.

“I will always, always have doubters,” Lin said. “But I really want to reach my potential to bring glory to God. That is more motivation than haters and doubters. I want to work just as hard, give just as much, whether or not I have haters.”