Linsanity appears to be back in Charlotte or at least that’s what the fans of the Hornets in the ongoing National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs want at this point.
After losing the first two games of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff with the Miami Heat, the Charlotte Hornets have bounced back big time, winning the next two and the series is now tied at 2-2, heading into Game 5 in Miami slated on April 29.
In the two wins of the Hornets on their home floor, Jeremy Lin played a big role. During Game 3, he and Frank Kaminsky were the thorns on the Miami Heat, leading the Hornets in scoring.
In Game 4 held on April 26, Lin backstopped Hornets point guard Kemba Walker in scoring and the two of them combined for 55 points – Walker had 34 while Lin made 21 markers.
A Michael Jordan move
The Miami Heat was leading by 11 points in the second quarter when Jeremy Lin started the Hornets’ 27-4 run that turned an 11-point deficit into an 11-point advantage.
It was also during that same stretch when Lin made a difficult three-point bank shot from the right side against the outstretch arms of Heat forward Udonis Haslem.
He was practically on fire on that stretch and when his shot went in, he made a shrug with a hand gesture reminiscent of what Michael Jordan did when he was still playing for the Chicago Bulls during the 1992 NBA Finals against Clyde Drexler and the Portland Trailblazers, notes CBS Sports.
When asked after the game if he was paying homage to Michael Jordan, who happens to be his boss as the team owner and president of the Hornets franchise, Lin said no. He explained that he did not even think about it until somebody told him about it after the game.
Lin said that he and Kemba were talking about that which he described as sort of “Angels in the Outfield” moment or a blessing from God. He recounted that when he let go of the shot, he was not looking at making it at all, so when it went in, he said thank God.
A Kemba and Jeremy show
The 89-85 Game 4 win of the Charlotte Hornets over the Miami Heat that knotted their series to 2-2 was a Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lin show.
The two point guards took turns in their spurts with Kemba Walker delivering the final blow in the fourth quarter with his barreling and fearless drives to the hoops. Jeremy Lin was responsible for the second quarter and third quarter onslaught where the Hornets took command of the game and even led by as much as 16 points early in the third quarter.
But Miami Heat made a run and cut the deficit down to two at one point in the third quarter with the score pegged at 58-56.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Walker started his drives and the Hornets kept the Heat at bay. With less than a minute left, the closest that the Heat can get was two points when the score was pegged at 87-85. It could have been one had Hassan Whiteside made the front end of his free throw.
During the Hornets next offensive set, they missed a shot but Courtney Lee grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 4.6 seconds remaining. Lee calmly sank the two free throws that put the score at 89-85.
The game obviously had the signatures of Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lin all over it and their plays were also infectious. While their effective shooting touch did not exactly rub off on their teammates, both had the crowd and the cast of teammates in a frenzy as they feed off on the energies of each other, notes Yahoo! Sports.
Lin’s 21 markers also tied his playoff career high in points, which he got while playing for the Houston Rockets two years ago.