It was clear from the opening tip Deron Williams was looking forward to his rematch last night with Jeremy Lin and the Knicks. Lin burst onto the scene against Williams and the Nets on Feb. 4, when he came off the bench to score 25 points and dish out seven assists.
And after Williams got some payback, finishing with 38 points and six assists in the Nets’ 100-92 win at the Garden, he couldn’t help but marvel at the way Lin has gone from an end-of-the-bench afterthought to a league-wide sensation in a matter of weeks.
“It’s an amazing story that he was going to be cut the next day, then come out and play the way he did against us and to keep going the way he has,” Williams said. “Even tonight, he had a great game.
“It was overshadowed because of mine, but he’s playing great basketball. It is definitely a tremendous story.”
Playing against a red-hot Williams and for the first time in weeks playing with Carmelo Anthony, Lin had one of his best all-around games since he became a fixture in the Knicks’ lineup. He finished with 21 points on 7-for-18 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and nine assists in 36:21.
“[Williams] is one of the best guards in the league, and Jeremy still got 21 and nine,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said. “He had a good game, and Deron had a great game.”
After having at least six turnovers in each of his past six games, Lin managed to cut them down last night, ending with three giveaways.
“I think the [defensive] coverages were about the same,” Lin said. “I think they were quicker on their rotations … they did a good job of that. Obviously, Deron Williams going for 30, or whatever he had, is not going to get it done.
“I need to come out with more energy and the team needs to come out with more energy. At the end of the day, that is why we lost.”
tbontemps@nypost.com