NBA

McHale, Rockets lovin’ Lin

HOUSTON — It would be an impossible task for Jeremy Lin to live up to last season’s Linsanity.

But halfway through his first season with the Rockets, Kevin McHale is happy with the progress his point guard has made.

“In anybody’s career, you spend time playing on the ceiling and playing on the floor, where in reality where you’re at is somewhere in between there,” the Rockets coach said of Lin, who had 14 points, nine assists and five rebounds in last night’s 119-106 win over the Nets. “You saw somebody playing on the ceiling, and that’s not realistic. I think sometimes that follows him a little bit too much. … I think he’s doing a good job for a young guy.

“He’s been doing great.”

Lin left the Knicks as a free agent this summer after they opted not to match the revised three-year, $25 million offer sheet the Rockets gave him. Then, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey landed James Harden in a blockbuster trade with the Thunder just before the regular season began, adding another wrinkle to his adjustment to playing in Houston on the NBA’s youngest team.

The combination of Lin and Harden gave the Nets fits all night. The Rockets guards sliced through the Nets’ defense, allowing them to either get easy buckets for themselves or set up their teammates for wide-open shots either at the rim or from behind the 3-point line.

“I thought we were definitely the faster team,” said Lin, who is averaging 12 points, 6.1 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 2.0 steals. “We’re younger and we play with more pace.

“We were able to get into the paint, go inside, drive inside, get our big men easy buckets and then kick out for some open 3s, as well.”

* Tornike Shengelia and Tyshawn Taylor, playing their second game of the week for the Nets’ D-League affiliate, the Springfield Armor, each put up good numbers in the win.

Shengelia finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots, and Taylor had 26 points, six rebounds and five assists.

* The Nets have dropped 12 straight games to the Rockets.