-Ok, now for the real recap.
-If you missed this one, you missed the next part of the Jeremy Lin story, as Lin hit a game-winning three-pointer with less than a second left to cap off a resilient comeback by the New York Knicks, in a 90 to 87 Knicks' win. The Raptors had a double digit lead for most of the game but Lin went off in the fourth quarter, and numerous errors on behalf of the DInos added up to an L.
-Toronto started off red-hot scoring 28 first quarter points (to New York's 21) and had a 47 to 36 lead at the half. The Knicks' defence was simply non-existent as Toronto waltzed effortlessly to the rim over and over, resulting in over 50 per cent shooting from the field, and the differential on the scoreboard. Add on some great pressure D by Toronto, forcing Lin into five turnovers, and a big advantage on the glass, and the game looked like Toronto's for the taking.
-Then Knicks' coach Mike D'Antoni started to make some adjustments. First, he put athletic guard Iman Shumpert on Jose Calderon. Calderon had been torching the Knicks up to that point, but soon after the switch, suddenly Toronto's offense began to crawl to a halt. This culminated in a late fourth quarter stretch where TO failed to score on eight straight possessions and meanwhile, New York simply kept chipping away at Toronto's lead. Without Jose's scoring, and minus Andrea Bargnani and Jerryd Bayless, players like Linas Kleiza and Leandro Barbosa tried to take over, but with mixed results.
-As well, D'Antoni helped to make sure DeMar DeRozan couldn't pick up where Calderon left off. D'Antoni had the physical and athletic Bill Walker switch onto DeRozan, and from that point on DeMar essentially disappeared. Even some foul trouble to Tyson Chandler couldn't slow the Knicks down as Amar'e Stoudemire found his legs late in the game despite repeatedly being blocked by Amir Johnson, and the Knicks rode his play, along with that of Lin, to eventually tie it up.
-And the rest as they say is history. Lin actually converted on an "And 1" sequence to tie it, which led to the inevitable set-up for a legend enhancing, "game-winner" opportunity.
-Which, with 0.5 seconds left, Lin hit.
-Game over, Knicks win, the legend of Lin grows, and another winnable game gets away from the Toronto Raptors, who now must forget tonight's debacle, and prepare for a very good San Antonio team, tomorrow night.