CHARLOTTE – Jeremy Lin finally got a chance to show the Charlotte Hornets what “Linsanity” is all about.
Making just his second start with the Hornets, Lin scored a season-high 35 points in a 109-99 overtime victory over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday (Friday Manila time).
Kemba Walker added 27 points, and P.J. Hairston had 14, including a three-pointer with 1:30 remaining in overtime that put the Hornets ahead to stay.
“That’s what I wanted to do for a long time,” said Lin, who got the start when Nicolas Batum couldn’t play because of an illness that took him out in the second half Wednesday night in a loss at Orlando.
“I saw how much (being the playmaker) took out of Al (Jefferson) and Kemba. But I couldn’t have done it without (Walker) and he couldn’t have done it without me. He helps me out just as much as I hope I can help him.”
Charlotte Hornets’ Jeremy Lin (7) drives past Toronto Raptors’ Bismack Biyombo (8) and Patrick Patterson (54) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015. The Hornets won 109-99 in overtime. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
It took both Lin – who had 18 first-half points as Charlotte took a 56-44 halftime lead – and Walker to take down the Raptors, who rallied from a 16-point deficit late in the third quarter.
Lin gave Charlotte a 72-56 lead on a layup with 4:14 left in the third quarter. But behind Kyle Lowry, who scored 13 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, the Raptors fought back and tied it at 90 on DeMar DeRozan’s jumper with 26 seconds remaining.
Toronto had a chance to win it in regulation, forcing a turnover that DeRozan turned into a jumper – only to have the points overturned because of a timeout called right after the steal was made.
“I was proud of the team and the way we competed late,” Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. “But we didn’t compete early enough. It’s almost like we have to get hit in the teeth before we compete. I do give our guys credit – they could have quit but they didn’t; they fought, and put themselves in a position to win.”
Toronto took its only lead on Lowry’s layup 15 seconds into overtime. After two ties, Hairston hit his 3.
The Hornets closed out the game by outscoring the Raptors 10-3 over the final 1:07, going 8 of 8 from the free throw line.
“That was a really good win,” Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. “It wasn’t pretty there in the fourth (quarter), but I thought we had a lot of guys make a lot of good plays.”