A player not far-removed from the D-League took the Nets to school Saturday night in Madison Square Garden.
With the crowd chanting "Jer-e-my" and "MVP," the MSG faithful found an underdog to root for in Jeremy Lin.
The Harvard product dominated his unexpected match-up with Deron Williams and led the Knicks to a 99-92 win.
Lin went for career numbers in every major category. He scored 25 points, dished out seven assists, and grabbed five rebounds.
He punished the Nets inside, getting to the rim with ease. Lin was recently waived by the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets before finding a home in New York.
"When you have a guy coming off your bench like that, scoring 25, it's pretty deflating," Avery Johnson said.
"He had a career night," Johnson added. "Unfortunately it came against us."
Williams managed 21 points and 11 assists, but he went 7-of-19 from the field and could not get his team going in crunch time.
Lin would not take the credit for containing Williams, though.
"It's really not about what I did, it's team defense," Lin said.
With five straight points from Jordan Farmar, the Nets led, 77-76, with 9:42 left in the fourth quarter.
Behind Lin, the Knicks embarked on an extended 21-9 run. Lin drove the rim for a layup with 1:36 left to cap the run and give the Knicks a 97-86 lead.
"We broke down on some big plays," Shawne Williams said. "We didn't execute down the stretch, and if you don't execute down the stretch you don't win."
The Knicks' Big Three were the only others of note to put up numbers. Amar'e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler scored 17 points apiece. Carmelo Anthony scored 11 on 3-of-15 shooting.
The Knicks outrebounded the Nets, 48-39, and dished out two more assists than New Jersey as well.
Both teams entered the game logging some heavy minutes. The Nets were playing their fourth game in five nights while the Knicks were playing their third straight.
"It's just an energy game, especially in the fourth quarter," Johnson said. "They just had a little more in the tank than we did."
The Nets held leads in the game, however. They pulled ahead, 30-18, late in the first quarter.
Kris Humphries floater in the lane gave the Nets a 66-59 lead and capped a 12-2 run with 3:14 left in the third quarter.
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