MACAU – Whenever they saw themselves on the big screen, a handful of fans at the Studio City Event Center in the duration of the East Asia Super League Final Four weekend showed off their replica of Jeremy Lin’s No. 17 jersey for the New York Knicks where 'Linsanity' was born.
But another Lin left the crowd more impressed over the weekend.
While Jeremy attracted the brightest spotlight, the 10-year NBA veteran deflected it to his younger brother, Joseph, who was the New Taipei Kings’ most consistent player on the way to copping bronze medal.
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“I feel like Joe played an amazing weekend,” Jeremy said after their 84-80 win over Ryukyu in the battle for third. “He was so dynamic.”
In the Final Four loss to Hiroshima, the younger Lin was one of the few bright spots for the Kings, dropping 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting, four assists, two rebounds, one steal, and one block in 33 minutes.
Against Ryukyu in the bronze-medal match, Lin put up 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting, five assists, two steals, one turnover in 29 minutes, capping his solid play by dishing out the game-winning assist to Su Shih Hsuan for the dagger corner triple that completed their comeback.
Jeremy, on the other hand, blew hot and cold for the Kings as he continued to recover from a hamstring injury.
Held to seven points on 3-of-9 shooting in their semifinal loss in his return on Friday, Lin felt healthier two days later, firing 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, three boards, three assists, and two steals in less than 19 minutes off the bench.
The better individual showing resulted in a team victory as Lin continued to cherish the chance to team up with Joe, a 32-year-old 6-foot-1 point guard who played for US NCAA Division III school Hamilton College.
“We’re just trying to have fun,” Jeremy said. “Me and Joe, we came a long way from the backyard to playing together, so it’s something that, in our second season, we try to remind ourselves that this is a dream come true.”
“Mom, dad, they would never have thought that we’d be doing this, even one of us would be doing this, let alone two on the same team. So we try to remind ourselves that. It’s a big reason why I’m still playing basketball, because of him and being able to play alongside him,” the 36-year-old playmaker added.
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