On Sunday evening at Staples Center, Jeremy Lin set a new season-high with 29 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers past the Philadelphia 76ers 101-87. With the victory, the Lakers snapped a four-game losing streak and won their 18th game of the season.
In the first half, Lin and Jordan Hill led the home team with two impressive shooting performances. Lin started out by making his first three shots and went into the halftime break with eight points. However, the 26-year-old point guard would hold of on truly stamping his mark on the game until the second half.
Hill would make his first six shots, and only a missed free throw to put a blemish on an otherwise perfect performance by the power forward in the first half. Hill also had grabbed five rebounds to tie as top-rebounder at the break; Tarik Black and Ed Davis also had five rebounds at the intermission.
While Philadelphia struggled with its shot early and only managed to shoot 40.9 percent by halftime, the visiting Sixers still built a 10-point lead in the first half. By halftime, though, the Lakers had cut that deficit to six points and trailed 47-41. Thomas Robinson's 10 points off Philly's bench at halftime certainly helped the visitors' cause.
In the third quarter, the Lakers would battle back and momentarily take hold of the lead. Lin continued his strong play from the first half. In the final 5:25 of the third period, the point guard scored nine points and dished two assists. Lin would enter the fourth quarter as the leading scorer in the game with 17 points.
At the start of the fourth period, Davis would emerge as a defensive presence on one end and a clinical finisher on the other. With Lin finding the Lakers' big man in transition, the Lakers rode that energetic combination to an 11-point advantage with about six minutes left to play.
From there, the Lakers would cruise behind the Davis and Lin combination and even build out a 15-point lead. Davis scored six points and blocked four shots in the final period. Lin, meanwhile, added 12 more points and three more assists in the final period to take his final figures to 29 points, five assists and five rebounds.
Next, the Lakers play the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Tuesday.
Notes: Lakers coach Byron Scott will miss the next two games to attend the funeral service for his late mother. Assistant coach Paul Pressey will assume the head coaching seat in the interim. Scott expects to re-join the team on Friday in Toronto.