Jeremy Lin did his best basketball in the fourth quarter.
Situation: The Lakers were down 6 points in the fourth quarter, 82-76. Nick Young got ejected out of the game for throwing an elbow and pushing off Steven Adams at his throat.
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Usually when a team comes across this situation there are two outcomes; the team is deflated for losing one of their best players and plays flat for the rest of the game or a player steps up to bring the team back to try and win. Jeremy Lin chose the latter.
So, what did he do?
With Kobe Bryant on the bench, he led Robert Sacre, Wesley Johnson, Carlos Boozer, Wayne Ellington, to a fourth quarter run.
Solid defense forced a turnover, and Jeremy Lin put on a crossover move on Reggie Jackson for a baseline 18′ jumper. Later, he attacked the basket hard, drawing the defense all the way under the basket, leaving Wayne Ellington open for a three-point make.
The lead was cut to three.
Off of a high screen by Carlos Boozer, he attacked the basket on the left side, threw a shovel pass for another made layup.
The lead was cut to two.
On the next possession, he did an excellent job moving his feet and keeping up defensively against Reggie Jackson. He drew an offensive foul.
Jeremy Lin hit a pull up 18′ jumpshot over Reggie Jackson to tie the basketball game up at 88. He spurred on a 12-6 run.
He wasn’t done. He split the defense on a high pick-and-roll situation and found Ellington along the baseline for a corner three.
The Lakers took the lead at 91-88.
Kobe Bryant came back and the enthusiasm, player movement, and ball movement wasn’t the same. Yes, he hit a shot late in the game to try and maintain the lead. Even Jeremy Lin hit a mid-range jumpshot to cut the lead close once again. But, the last shot went to Kobe Bryant. It wasn’t just short, it was wide left.
Jeremy Lin finished with 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting from the field, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists in 22 minutes. After spurring on the comeback, as great as Kobe Bryant is, sometimes the shot has to go to the one who caught fire.
That wasn’t Kobe Bryant. It was Jeremy Lin.