Making just his second start of the year Thursday night, Jeremy Lin went off for a season-high 35 points in the Charlotte Hornets’ 109-99 overtime win against the visiting Toronto Raptors.
The game went into the extra session after a timeout was called just before DeMar DeRozan’s miraculous buzzer-beater.
Kyle Lowry called timeout just before DeMar DeRozan hit a 40-foot would-be game-winner against the Hornets. It's heading to OT in Charlotte.
— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) December 18, 2015
Kemba Walker chipped in with 27 points in the W.
Per the AP:
“That’s what I wanted to do for a long time,” said Lin, who got the start when Nicholas Batum couldn’t play because of an illness that took him out in the second half Wednesday night in a loss at Orlando. […] “I saw how much (being the playmaker) took out of Al (Jefferson) and Kemba. But I couldn’t have done it without (Walker) and he couldn’t have done it without me. He helps me out just as much as I hope I can help him.”
It took both Lin — who had 18 first-half points as Charlotte took a 56-44 halftime lead — and Walker to take down the Raptors, who rallied from a 16-point deficit late in the third quarter. […] Lin gave Charlotte a 72-56 lead on a layup with 4:14 left in the third quarter. But behind Kyle Lowry, who scored 13 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, the Raptors fought back and tied it at 90 on DeMar DeRozan’s jumper with 26 seconds remaining.
Toronto had a chance to win it in regulation, forcing a turnover that DeRozan turned into a jumper — only to have the points overturned because of a timeout called right after the steal was made. […] “I was proud of the team and the way we competed late,” Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. “But we didn’t compete early enough. It’s almost like we have to get hit in the teeth before we compete. I do give our guys credit — they could have quit but they didn’t; they fought, and put themselves in a position to win.”
