Jeremy Lin entered the game midway through the third as Coach Keith Smart began emptying his bench. Lin entering the game and Stephen Curry exiting looked to be Smart waving the white flag as Phil Jackson has kept most of his first unit in throughout the third, with Ron Artest getting a breather.
In his first shot attempt, Lin nailed a 18 footer from the baseline. The crowd roared audibly through the television. Moments later, Lin took the ball baseline and drew a foul sinking two free throws.
After that, Lin struggled repeatedly getting his shot off, taking Steve Blake off the dribble, easily, but missing the layup. Then Lin grabbed his own rebound and missed a wide open 8 footer in the lane. Then he missed his next two jumpers, one being a 3-pointer with the shot clock expiring. Lin is 1-6 but that’s not to say that’s any worse or better than the rest of his peers. Oddly out of all the Warriors, Lin is the only one with a positive /- (3).
Lin appears to be pressing a bit but settled in the last few possessions making easy passes to open Warriors on the perimeter. With the Lakers up by more than 30, we can expect Lin to get more time with the second unit starring Jeff Adrien, Rodney Carney, Dorell Wright, and Charlie Bell.