Lin comes up just short in strong return
Nets Drop Nail-Biter in Houston Despite Point Guard’s Solid Showing
Jeremy Lin couldn’t quite put the finishing touches on his inspiring return Monday night from a hamstring injury that kept him out of action for the previous five weeks.
Despite scoring 10 points, handing out seven assists and registering a plus-17 rating in 20 scintillating minutes off the bench, Lin missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 18 seconds to play, leaving the struggling Nets to endure a 122-118 loss to the red-hot Houston Rockets in front of 13,619 fans at the Toyota Center.
Lin, who was Brooklyn’s biggest offseason acquisition, landing a three-year, $36 million deal to “quarterback” new head coach Kenny Atkinson’s motion offense, hadn’t stepped foot on an NBA court since Nov. 2, when he suffered a left-hamstring strain against Detroit at Downtown’s Barclays Center.