In the wake of a report about Byron Scott’s plan to start him at some point over the next 25 games, Los Angeles Lakers guard Jeremy Lin delivered another superb game off the bench to back up his case of becoming a starter at the soonest possible time.
The 26-year Lin recovered well from his 8-point outing against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, as he provided an all-around effort with 14 points on 4-for-10 shooting, six assists and five rebounds in 29 minutes of action in the Lakers’ 101-93 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Lin, who put up 18 points in a loss to the Brooklyn Nets and a season-high 25 points in a win over the Boston Celtics prior to his poor shooting night (3-for-12 from the field) in Salt Lake City, also played a key role in rallying the Lakers in the fourth quarter.
Down 73-65 at the start of the pay-off period, the former Harvard standout scored seven of his total points and then dished out four assists – three of which to Wayne Ellington, who suddenly caught fire after missing his first six shots. The former North Caroline Tar Heel product scored 11 straight points in the fourth quarter to lead the Lakers 34-point explosion in the fourth quarter.
"The next one's going up and in," Lin said of Ellington’s strong mindset despite a rough start via ESPN. "He knows all he needs is one. You got to feed the hot hand. That's just the team effort we need. We were able to make them play defense on their heels."
Jordan Clarkson, fresh from setting a new career-high 22 points against the Jazz, led the team with 16 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds while Jordan Hill chipped in 14 off the bench to improve the Lakers’ record to 16-41.
The Bucks (32-26), on the other hand, banked on Ersan Ilyasova (17 points and 12 rebounds) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (13 points and 8 rebounds), but still succumbed to third loss in four-games.
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