Surging Heat clamps down on Lin
Jeremy Lin looks on during a game against the Miami Heat. (Feb. 23, 2012) Credit: Getty Images
MIAMI -- Heat coach Erik Spoelstra Thursday called Jeremy Lin an example of "fortitude and faith and resiliency."
LeBron James said, "It's definitely a great story."
Still, after praising him, the Heat did its best to bury Lin Thursday night in the much-anticipated showdown with the Knicks at AmericanAirlines Arena -- and superstar Dwyane Wade admitted that Lin-sanity, while riveting at first, "became a lot to continue to listen to."
Lin has made the Knicks the most talked-about team in the NBA, but the Heat still is the hottest after a 102-88 win, its eighth in a row.
Lin shot 1-for-11 from the field and was held to eight points and three assists -- with eight turnovers -- by a variety of Heat defenders, including starting point guard Mario Chalmers and rookie backup Norris Cole.
The Heat guards met Lin at midcourt and bodied up to him. Wade said the game plan was to "try not to let him see the floor because he can pick you apart. If you give him [space], he's going to murder you."
The Heat players said they didn't have any problem with Lin. But it was clear they enjoyed outplaying the NBA's fastest-rising star.
"He got a lot of attention early and I thought he handled it very well," Wade said. "The biggest thing is that their team was winning. That's the reason he got it, because he helped that team win. Especially early. Then after a while, it became a lot to continue to listen to and watch. But, you know what, congratulations to him. He deserved it and now he's got to extend it."
He didn't Thursday night, mostly because of the non-hyped duo of Chalmers and Cole.
"We just tried to keep a body on him all night," Chalmers said. "Apply as much pressure as we can and see how he reacted."
Asked if he took it as a personal challenge, Chalmers said: "I did a little bit."
Cole, meanwhile, has a connection to Lin. When the NBA added Lin to the roster for Friday night's All-Star Weekend Rising Stars Challenge, it did so by expanding an 18-player pool to 20. The second player added was Cole, a 6-2 guard out of Cleveland State. They talked about it on the floor Thursday night.
"I told him, 'Congratulations on making it,' " Cole said. " 'Keep working hard, getting better.' He said the same thing to me: 'Congratulations.' "
That doesn't mean Cole didn't try to get in Lin's kitchen during the game. And it worked.
"That's what pressure does to anybody," said Cole, who scored 10 points. "It makes you feel uncomfortable. I'm not sure if he's faced a defense like ours before . . . You could tell . You could tell he's a competitor. He kept trying to come back, come back. But you could definitely tell."
Cole's best -- and worst -- moment came at Lin's expense. Midway through the second quarter, Cole stole the ball from Lin and went in for his first NBA dunk. The dunk was good, but Cole slipped on the landing and fell on his right side.
"Unfortunate," Wade said. "Not a good landing at all."
