On Saturday, Jeremy Lin had the best night out of any of the Houston Rockets, but his performance alone wasn't enough to defeat the Denver Nuggets. With 23 points, eight assists and only one turnover, Lin's effort went to waste as well as a chance to pull into sixth place in the Western Conference standings.
The Golden State Warriors lost to the Utah Jazz Sunday. A win would have given them a two-game lead with only a week and a half of basketball remaining in the regular season. However, the Jazz were relentless defeating the Warriors 97-90. This allows the Rockets to remain just a game behind in the standings.
Lin did his best to guide the Rockets to victory against the Nuggets. The rest of the team, however, had issues keeping the ball as they turned the rock over 19 times. Lin was only responsible for one of these turnovers showing he is making improvements in one of the weakest parts of his game. Line continued to distribute the ball well in this game and kept the Rockets in the game until, eventually, the Nuggets offense woke up and put the game away entering the fourth quarter.
James Harden, who is considered the star of the team, couldn't come through big in this one going just 2-10 from the floor and scoring only 14 points. Against a powerhouse like the Nuggets, there is no way that Lin's 23 points would have been enough for a win. The only reason why Harden was able to score in double-digits was because he was hot from the free throw line going 10-10.
Saturday's performance is not an anomaly for Lin, despite scoring over 20 points in consecutive games for the second time in less than a month. The Rockets had a four-game winning streak coming into this matchup and Lin was making his part felt posting two double-doubles. After a bit of a cold spell at the end of February and then in March when Lin seemed to run out of gas, Lin has posted five consecutive games with double-digits scoring.
As the season comes to a close, the rest of Lin's teammates will have to match his intensity if the Rockets would prefer to face the Los Angeles Clippers over the defending Western Conference champion, Oklahoma City Thunder. Though a matchup against the Rockets would be very dramatic and great for ratings, which is what Commissioner Davis Stern likes, Houston's chances of advancing further into the playoffs are better against the Clippers.
The Rockets have five games remaining in the season. They are 43-34 in seventh placei n the West with what seems to be a secure 2.5 game lead over the Jazz.
