Nursing a bad back, Los Angeles Lakers point guard Jeremy Lin played through the pain and delivered his highest scoring output in purple-and-gold uniform, recording a season-high 29 points in Sunday's 101-87 win over the Philadelphia 76ers at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Lin, who scored two points in a 80-73 loss to Utah Jazz last Thursday, delivered perhaps his most dynamic performance of his Lakers career as he absolutely burned the Sixers' defense with variation of shots.
The 26-year old point guard shot an impressive 10-for-16 from the field (2-for-2 from the three point line and 7-for-8 from the charity stripe) and tallied five rebounds and five dimes, including a beautiful no-look assist to Wesley Johnson in the third quarter that triggered the Lakers' rally in the second half.
His scoring explosion against the Sixers was only the latest of a string of excellent scoring performance the former Harvard standout put up since coming off the All-Star break last February.
Byron Scott, who already guaranteed Lin's inclusion into the starting lineup for the final 10 games of the season, lauded his point guard's play not only because of his 29-point output but also his outstanding effort on the defensive end of the floor.
"I thought he was great," Scott said during the post-game press conference via the Associated Press. "He made great decisions. On the offensive end, he got guys involved. Defensively, he was where he was supposed to be and he did a lot of good things at that end of the floor as well."
Averaging 11.1 points and 4.7 assists in the season, Lin is playing in the final year of his three-year, $25 million deal that pays him around $15 million. With free-agency looming large, Lin admitted that returning to the starting lineup would be a great development for him as he looks to improve his stock heading to this summer. Nevertheless, he stressed that his main focus remains helping his team whatever it takes to win ballgames.
"Obviously, I would love to be in the starting lineup, but nothing's guaranteed at this point," Lin said. "I mean, 70 games into the season, I'm just trying to stay focused on doing what I'm supposed to do when I get in there."
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