Jeremy Lin Has His Best Night Yet; John Wall Blows Up

Wow. Nothing else really needs to be said at this point. Jeremy Lin has done some cool things, but last night he took it to another level, wetting a pull-up jumper in Canada’s face with less than a second left in a tie game. The swag was ridiculous; In the huddle before he closed the fridge on the Raptors, Lin told Mike D’Antoni to give him an iso. Then he went out and capped the best night yet of the Jeremy Lin tour with New York’s come-from-behind 90-87 win. Lin (27 points, 11 assists) really shut Floyd Mayweather Jr. up in the second half after Jose Calderon (25 points, nine assists) was slapping him around for much of the first half. Jose had 12 in the first quarter, banging threes and just taking the ball right out of Lin’s mitts. But the game’s biggest sequence came with Toronto up five in the final two minutes. Iman Shumpert – who COMPLETELY changed the game with his defense in the second half – ripped Calderon at half-court and dunked. Then Lin went in for a three-point play, double-pumping at the rim to set up his game-winner … The Heat became the first team in 40 years to win three road games on consecutive nights by double figures by clowning the Pacers, 105-90. Indiana sat down to lay an egg early, falling behind right away as Miami played – in the words of the announcers – the best half of any NBA team all season. LeBron led the way with an easy 23 points and nine rebounds … Rodney Stuckey played one of his best games of the season, going for 23 and eight, and yet it was Tony Parker who punked Detroit down the stretch of the Spurs’ four-point survival. TP only had 14, but had a lefty layup and then hit a smooth floater in the last minute to keep the Pistons from stealing one. It was a typical Detroit finish. Ben Gordon missed a big three, felt he was fouled by Duncan and then picked up a technical in a one-possession game in the closing seconds … Sean Elliott: “Ben Wallace is breaking the record (this was for most games by an undrafted player). It’s unfortunate he’s doing it in front of five people.” Among other things Big Ben did last night was air ball a free throw in a way even DeSagana Diop would be jealous … Mike Conley dropped 21 as Memphis won an important game over a team they’ll probably be fighting with throughout the season to make the playoffs, the Rockets … James Harden (22 points) and the Thunder had absolutely no trouble stomping out Utah, 111-85 … And the Lakers won ugly, 86-78 over Atlanta behind 20 and 13 from Pau Gasol … The 2012 Olympic Women’s Team Finalists were announced: Jayne Appel, Seimone Augustus, Sue Bird, Rebekkah Brunson, Swin Cash, Tamika Catchings, Tina Charles, Candice Dupree, Sylvia Fowles, Brittney Griner, Lindsey Harding, Asjha Jones, Kara Lawson, Angel McCoughtry, Renee Montgomery, Maya Moore, Candace Parker, Cappie Pondexter, Diana Taurasi, Lindsay Whalen and Sophia Young … … Keep reading to hear about the best night of John Wall’s season …

John Wall missed four shots and poured in 29, with nine dimes. Nick Young missed five shots, hit seven threes and dropped 35. And Jordan Crawford missed seven shots and had 21 points, and the Wizards pulled off another shocker, 124-109 in Portland despite 33 (and a nasty dunk) from Nicolas Batum … Losing three of four games had Nate McMillan yelling at his team in a closed-door practice on Monday but that could pale to what the Blazers could lose now. All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge sprained his ankle in the first quarter. Reports said X-rays were negative, but the big Texan has been the team’s only rudder this year and the Blazers have still struggled. If the injury is anything more than a couple games, Portland’s front line is now Kurt Thomas, Marcus Camby and Craig Smith. Gulp … The Kings battled. More specifically, Tyreke Evans, DeMarcus Cousins and Marcus Thornton battled. And yet, Chicago still pulled out a crazy 121-115 win behind Luol Deng (23 points, 11 assists) and Joakim Noah (22 points, 11 rebounds) … Let’s take a moment to reflect on Cousins (28 points, 17 rebounds). He was acting a fool earlier this season, but lately, kid has been Jermaine Dupri-ing. He had nine and eight after the first 12 minutes, including one play where he raced down an air ball and muscled up a shot and tip-in amongst three Bulls. Then a few minutes later, he hit a runner off the glass… plus one … Taj Gibson had an angry third quarter dunk, and it prompted Stacey King to yell “DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO POST VIDEOS TO FACEBOOK?” from the commercial … Best moment of the entire night: During a break, a random guy proposed at midcourt, but said he didn’t have the ring. Then out of nowhere, Benny the Bull came flying down out of the rafters with it. It was like something straight outta Semi-Pro … And Arron Afflalo continued his resurgence with 20 points in Denver’s easy 109-92 win over the Suns. Steve Nash and Grant Hill sat it out to rest up, but we couldn’t blame them if they pulled the old intramural trick: sit out and then sneak your way onto another team. Even 20 points from a rejuvenated Michael Redd couldn’t halt the bleeding … And how was your Valentine’s Day? The Wizards had some interesting stories. Trevor Booker told a tale of how he once was away for the holiday and taped his gift to an alarm, set it for midnight and then put it under his girl’s bed. He was feeling himself over that one. Then, there was this from Jordan Crawford: “I’m the wrong person to talk to about Valentine’s Day. I usually get rid of my shorties around now.” … We’re out like A.I.’s bank account.