Lin Leads Hornets To OT Victory in NBA

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Published on December 18 2015 6:14 am
Last Updated on December 18 2015 6:15 am

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 night.

Kemba Walker added 27 points, and P.J. Hairston had 14, including a 3-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 Nicholas 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."

Lin had 18 first-half points as Charlotte took a 56-44 halftime lead, but it took both Lin 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 90-90 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.

 

Thursday, December 17 Scoreboard
    
Charlotte 109, Toronto 99 (OT)
    
Cleveland 104, Oklahoma City 100

Houston 107, Los Angeles 87

 

Friday, December 18 Schedule (All Times Central)

Brooklyn at Indiana, 6 p.m.

Portland at Orlando, 6 p.m.

New York at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.

Atlanta at Boston, 6:30 p.m.

Toronto at Miami, 7 p.m.

Detroit at Chicago, 7 p.m.

Sacramento at Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Los Angeles at San Antonio, 7 p.m.

Memphis at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.

Denver at Utah, 8 p.m.

New Orleans at Phoenix, 9:30 p.m.

Milwaukee at Golden State, 9:30 p.m.