Jeremy Lin Gives New Coach First Win

Jeremy Lin Gives New Coach First Win

A big win of the New York Knicks marks the debut of Coach Mike Woodson as the team trampled the Portland Trail Blazers 121-79 at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday to put an end to a six-game losing streak.  Coach Mike Woodson is acting as temporary head coach after Mike D'Antoni resigned earlier in the day.

"For our team, this was an important game," said Woodson. "We're still trying to stay in the playoff hunt."

The Knicks tried to keep pace with Milwaukee after the team beat Cleveland to tie with New York (19-24) for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff berth.

"It's kind of an emotional day, you lose your head coach, who I have a great deal of respect for," said Woodson.

"The thing I was very impressed with (the Knicks) was how they defended and how they shared the ball offensively," he added.

The Knicks secured the first quarter with a 25-12 lead with Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire which showed their energy and enthusiasm as they rally for the win.

The lead heightened to 55-29 during intermission and by the fourth quarter. Long-range shooters J.R. Smith and Steve Novak contributed a lot to their winning.

Jeremy Lin expressed his gratitude to D'Antoni for giving him a chance to escape the bench and become a surprise sensation at point guard.

"Obviously, I miss him a lot," said Lin, who had six points, six turnovers and six assists in just under 23 minutes on the floor. "I am not going to forget what he did for me personally. I am sad to see him go. I owe him a lot.”

Posted by Andre Monohan on Friday March 16 2012, 2:31 AM EST. Ref: Yahoo. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0