HOUSTON — Jeremy Lin said last night he probably never will recreate the sensation of Linsanity, but at least a 131-103 victory over the Knicks was a major confidence-boosting step for the Rockets point guard toward getting out of his slump.
Lin and Houston won the game, even if he lost part of his front tooth diving for a ball in the final seconds of the first half. It was more energy the Knicks spent all night.
“I’m not looking to recreate what happened in New York,’’ Lin said. “I don’t know if I can play better than during that stretch. But I want to get better. This is a step in the right direction. I’m glad we moved in that direction. Nobody wants to start the season the way I did, but that’s the situation.’’
Lin, who gets to play a lot off the ball with James Harden as point forward, had a smooth outing, scoring 13 points, making 6 of 12 shots, ripping down seven rebounds and adding three assists. He defended Knicks point guard Raymond Felton well and dove on the floor to pick up a few loose balls, including a steal on Carmelo Anthony.
“I thought this was one of Jeremy’s better games,’’ Rockets interim coach Kelvin Sampson said. “I thought he really played and attacked with a little swagger and that was good to see. He has great teammates that encourage him.’’
Lin scored early on a neat move to the basket, making a layup over Tyson Chandler. He finished with six points in the first half, making 3-of-4 shots.
After the game, Lin got hugs from former teammates Anthony, Steve Novak and injured Iman Shumpert. Lin said he congratulated Anthony on his Olympic gold medal.
Before Lin’s departure from New York, there was talk of Anthony’s displeasure with Lin controlling the offense, which may have played a part in former coach Mike D’Antoni’s downfall.
“They’re all classy over there,’’ Lin said of the Knicks. “This team is pretty different. There are some guys still there, but it was good to compete against a couple of friends.’’
With the Knicks, the benchwarmer’s first sign of potential came in Houston on Jan. 28 — days before his breakout game against the Nets. A desperate D’Antoni played Lin most of the second half of that blowout loss to the Rockets. Lin, who had just been recalled from the D-League, got to the rim at will.
Afterward, Chandler, who was the point guard’s biggest fan last season, said he thought Lin should be a permanent fixture in the rotation.
“He showed the penetrating ability D’Antoni’s offense needs,’’ Chandler recalled before last night’s game. “I thought he could help us because he could penetrate and we didn’t have a guard at the time who could penetrate. It was a lot of the coach’s offense. At least he’s penetrating. We can run off that.
“He’s just a good kid. He worked extremely hard. He was passionate about the game. He wasn’t cutting any corners. I just wanted for him to get a shot.’’