Jeremy Lin was on top of the world and the next test was already in front of him. 24 hours after beating Kobe and the Lakers, Jeremy Lin and the Knicks stepped into a soldout Target Center with over 20,000 people eager to see what the Lin-Sanity was all about.  The Knicks playing on a back-to-back game were a tired squad, and the Twolves were determined to win a game having lost a close one to the Dallas Mavericks the night before.  The odds were against the Knicks in more ways than one as even Vegas sportsbooks put the Knicks as 6.5 point underdogs.

 It was billed as the showdown between 2 stellar guards, the come-from-nowhere Lin, and the highly touted Ricky Rubio.  Rubio and Kevin Love would have none of the Lin-Sanity and staked the Twolves to 54-62 lead by the half. Lin was his usual self, even breaking Luke Ridnour's ankle on a crossover.  He kept his team on pace with great stutter steps, step back jumpers, tear drops, and lob passes, and but it looked like the Twolves wanted to win this one more.

In the 2nd half, Lin shot very poorly, going 1 for 18. Kevin Love of the Twolves had a monster game as usual scoring 32 points and 21 rebounds.  Rubio also did well with 12 points and 8 assists. The Twolves lead by 7 points with half of the 4th quarter gone. It looked like the Knicks were finally going to lose and Jeremy's fantasy-like run was going to end.  But it was not to be as the rest of the Knicks team had decided that they'd like to keep their streak alive just a little bit longer.  Landry, Shumpert, and Novak combined for efficient shooting to keep New York nipping at the Twolves' heels.  Finally with about a minute left in the game, New York pulled ahead 95-94.  However Rubio and Love both scored to pull ahead 95-98.  Lin passed the ball, almost losing it to Novak who dropped a 3 to tie the game.  With only seconds left, Lin knew his shooting was not going to save him, so instead drove to the hoop for a foul. The Knicks escaped with a victory when Kevin Love airballed a 3 point desperation shot with 2 seconds left.  

Although Lin didn't play up to his standards, he still finished with 20 points and 8 assists, tying him with Stephon Marbury for the Knicks record of scoring 20+ points and 7+ assists for 5 games in a row.  Even if the Knicks had lost the game, everyone would have been satisfied that Jeremy had indeed proven himself capable of being in the NBA.  Instead the dream continues and this time the Knicks as a team played for the win.  Lin has inspired his team mates to push for the win and has them in the right mind set. 

The Knicks get a well deserved 2 days rest and then they bring the Jeremy Lin Show into Toronto.  It'll be interesting to see how the Knicks will deal with the return of Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony to their roster.  Carmelo has been criticized for being a selfish player and ultimately costing the Knicks wins. Can Lin who by now would surely be the starting point guard keep the Knicks winning and incorporating Carmelo's game into the team's renewed play?  Will Carmelo put his ego aside to to fit in?  Stoudemire will prosper from Lin's passes leading to easy baskets and dunks.  When Stoudemire played in Phoenix he was almost unstoppable due to another guard's well timed passes, namely the Canadian wonder Steve Nash.

Right now David Stern, commissioner of the NBA is licking his lips.  The NBA has punched another hole into the Great Wall of China and millions of fans are pouring out eager to watch Lin and buy his merchandise. A Taiwanese kid has turned the NBA inside out in exactly 1 week.  NBA is where amazing happens.  That's what Stern would say. 

Watch the game highlights below: