Lakers at Knicks
THE STORY: Kobe Bryant will make his only appearance this season at Madison Square Garden on Friday night, but the spotlight will be focused on New York rookie point guard Jeremy Lin. “Linsanity” has swept the NBA this week as the virtually unknown Harvard graduate has produced three consecutive 20-point games, including his first double-double (23 points and 10 assists) Wednesday in a victory over John Wall and Washington. The Knicks have won all three games. “I’m not even looking at the schedule,” Lin said. “I don’t even know beyond this week, to be honest. I can’t look at that now for my own sake mentally.”
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
ABOUT THE LAKERS (15-11): Los Angeles will try to win back-to-back road games for the first time this season. Pau Gasol, who was not added to the All-Star reserves, had 25 points and 14 rebounds and blocked Ray Allen’s last-second putback in an 88-87 overtime win at Boston on Thursday. “That shot that Ray Allen took was good, in my opinion,” coach Mike Brown said. “But Pau did not stop playing until he heard the horn, and he came up with the big block.”
ABOUT THE KNICKS (11-15): Forward Amar'e Stoudemire is not expected to join the team until Monday as he is still away after the death of his older brother, Hazell. Carmelo Anthony (groin strain) also is at least a week from rejoining the team. That has made Lin’s performances even more impressive. “You can see it in all our faces,” Jared Jeffries said. “The energy in this room, the camaraderie right now that we have, he’s (Lin) kind of unified this team.”
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Knicks have dropped nine straight to the Lakers. They last defeated them 107-106 on Feb. 13, 2007.
2. Bryant is averaging 26.6 points in 29 career games against the Knicks.
3. The Lakers will retire Shaquille O’Neal’s No. 34 jersey next season. O’Neal will become the eighth Laker to have his jersey retired. All seven are Hall of Famers.