Los Angeles Lakers point guard Jeremy Lin has produced his best game in purple-and-gold uniform, outdueling All-Star playmaker Chris Paul in a 118-111 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday at Staples Center.
After averaging just 6.5 points on 30 percent field goal shooting in the first two games of the season, the 26-year old Lin came alive on the offensive end of the floor as he tallied 17 points along with 9 dimes in 35 minutes of action.
Lin was also reliable in the crucial minutes of the game, and even gave the Lakers a three-point lead, 106-103, by making a miraculous, fall-away three-point shot over the outstretched hand of Paul with four minutes left in the game clock.
Paul, who is coming off 22-point, 10-assist performance over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the season-opener, was held down to just 12 points on 2-for-9 shooting from the field. He also added 10 assists to make it his second double-double outing of the season.
Two days ago, the 36-year old Bryant called out Lin to orchestrate plays efficiently after seeing multiple unproductive ball possessions in the game against the Houston Rockets and the Phoenix Suns.
Lin said he and Bryant indeed had a conversation before the game on how to share the leather and execute plays without turning the ball too much. He added the team is still in a learning to trust one another as the season progresses.
"We talked through some things and tried to open it up a little bit tonight," Lin said in the post-game interview via ESPN. "We tried to get everything moving and the ball popping. We learned to trust each other more.
"We're growing and figuring out to trust each other the right way. Just trying to create and attack and make as many plays as possible.'
With the loss, the Lakers dropped to 0-3 in the 2014-15 NBA season for the fourth time in franchise history. The good news is all three Lakers team that lost their first three games somehow made the playoffs. The Lakers will resume their campaign on Saturday against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena.
