Late Friday night, after Jeremy Lin had scored 38 points and led the Knicks to a win over Kobe Bryant and the Lakers at Madison Square Garden, Landry Fields tweeted, “Most fun I’ve ever had playing ball. Plain and simple.”
Fields looked like he was having plenty of fun Saturday night in Minnesota, as well, scoring 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out four assists in the Knicks’ 100-98 win, their fifth straight victory.
“This business, it’s tough,” Fields said afterward. “It’s cut-throat. But going out there lately, I don’t feel much pressure.
“It’s just fun playing with these guys, leaning on each other, and the chemistry we have is something I haven’t experienced in a long time.”
Fields has had a front-row seat to Lin’s heroics, starting alongside him in the Knicks’ backcourt. Along the way, the two have developed a unique pregame handshake. Fields shows Lin his hands, like he were holding a book. After Lin flips through a few of the book’s “pages,” Fields puts his hands together to “close” it.
Both of them then put their hands to their eyes to mimic wearing glasses, before “taking them off” and placing them in an invisible shirt pocket.
“The thing with the glasses, it’s kind of a ‘nerd alert’ thing,” Fields said with a smile, referring to his four-year stint at Stanford and Lin’s at Harvard. “The book is actually a Bible, and shows our faith in God and why we go out and play each game.
“The end, the goofiness of it, just kind of shows our personalities … we just want to go out there and have fun, and show the fans that we can be silly, too.”
Lin has been the headliner during the winning streak, of course, but his teammates also have stepped up. While Lin finished with 20 points, six rebounds and eight assists Saturday, Iman Shumpert came off the bench to score 20 points and Steve Novak added 15, including a 3-pointer from the left wing with 36.2 seconds left to tie the game at 98.
“We really trust each other,” Fields said. “At certain points of the game, somebody might take over, and we really lean on each other.
“The way we’re playing now, with Jeremy being able to spread the floor, really helped out my game, and the other guys, as well. When the game gets simple, it’s easier for us, so we’re more confident.’’
Little more than a week ago, Lin was near the end of the bench, and the Knicks were reeling. Now the team is riding a five-game winning streak — the last four coming without Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony — and Linsanity has become part of the basketball lexicon.
Fields couldn’t help but smile at the thought of it.
“It’s kind of incredible, how just one aspect can change a lot of things,” he said. “I’m thankful for that, and it’s a growth that we needed. When we get the other guys back, they’ll be right along with us.”