After seven straight wins since rags-to-riches point guard Jeremy Lin was handed more responsibility, the Knicks fell to the lowly New Orleans Hornets 89-85 at Madison Square Garden in New York on Friday night.
The loss meant the Knicks slipped back under .500 for the season, with a 15-16 win-loss record.
Still, while it wasn’t Lin’s best game since taking over as the Knicks starting point guard (he committed nine turnovers Friday), his 26 points, five assists and four steals showed he is able to produce solid numbers on a down night.
The undrafted second-year point guard from Harvard was the co-top scorer for the Knicks, with Amar’e Stoudemire chiming in with 26 points and 12 rebounds.
Trevor Ariza top scored with 25 points for the Hornets, who improved to 7-23 for the season.