Jeremy Lin led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 107-92 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night at Staples Center, helping his team end their five-game skid.
Lin, who was criticized for being too passive in their first five games, scored 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field, including three three-pointers. The 26-year-old point guard also posted seven assists and three rebounds.
Lakers head coach Byron Scott recently challenged Lin to become more aggressive on the offensive end of the floor. The first-year Lakers coach recently said that Lin should stop deferring to Kobe Bryant too much, and 'Linsanity' responded by having his best game in a Lakers uniform.
"Guys weren't just looking to get the ball to Kobe and step out of the way," Scott told ESPN, referring to his players. "I talked to Jeremy before the game about being more assertive on both ends of the floor."
The Lakers were down by nine points at halftime, but Lin spearheaded a huge rally in the third period as he scored 12 points to help the Lakers build a commanding 12-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Bobcats had several chances to make a comeback, but the Lakers held on to take their first win of the season.
"The one thing about today is we were talking, we were engaged, we were moving, we were trying to make it difficult [for Charlotte]," Lin told AFP and AP. "We were just trying to make them take some tough jump shots."
Lin also added that his relationship with Bryant is improving daily, and he is hoping that they will continue to trust each other to help the team exceed expectation this season.
The Palo Alto, California native said that he has been talking to Bryant frequently to figure out each other's strengths, and he is quite confident that they made a big step in Sunday night's win against the Hornets.
Lin averaged 12.5 points to go along with 5.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds in his first five games this season. In their four home games, Lin posted 15.8 points on 52.6 percent shooting from the field.
