MANHATTAN — The Lin-sanity could be over.
Jeremy Lin, the Knicks phenom, was smothered by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the rest of the Miami Heat's defense Thursday in a sobering 102-88 loss in Miami.
Lin, who came from nowhere earlier this month to become the NBA's story of the year so far, was forced into committing eight turnovers and only converting one of his 11 shots for eight points. He only had three assists.
The Miami defense focused on Lin from the start, with Mario Chalmers chasing the point guard baseline to baseline and disrupting his rhythm. When it wasn't Chalmers getting in Lin's face, the taller and more athletic James, who had five steals, was forcing the new star into poor decisions.
Lin's teammates didn't help much. Carmelo Anthony, who dropped 19 points, only shot 7-for-20; Baron Davis, Lin's backup, missed all seven of his field goal attempts and didn't score; and Amar'e Stoudemire, who scored 13 points, committed six turnovers.
The matchup against the Heat, the top team in the Eastern Conference, was supposed to be a litmus test for the rejuvenated Knicks, who had gone 9-2 since Lin's emergence. The disappointing loss caps the first half of the season for the Knicks, who finished 17-18 and seventh in the conference standings.
The team opens up the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden after the All-Star weekend.
