Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets Getting Help from Jeremy Lin at the Right Time

As the Charlotte Hornets sprinted through one of the NBA’s most dominant post-All-Star break runs, their path to playoff success seemed obvious.

Kemba Walker controlling the show. Threes flying all around. Al Jefferson balancing the offense underneath. And Nicolas Batum seamlessly filling any gap as it surfaces.

But those weren’t what allowed the Hornets to turn the tide and score an 89-85 victory in a win-or-be-in-serious-trouble Game 4. Already trailing 2-1 in their best-of-seven series with the Miami Heat, Charlotte was blitzed out of the gate: down 8-2 after three minutes, 13-4 through the first five-and-a-half.

Then, super sixth man Jeremy Lin checked into the action. And the Hornets almost immediately came to life. The Heat couldn’t stand next to Lin without hacking him:

Within 15 seconds of Jeremy Lin entering the game, Dwyane Wade picked up 2 fouls guarding him

— Manny Navarro (@Manny_Navarro) April 25, 2016

And when Miami’s defenders did stand their ground, Lin raced right past them. His dribble penetrations gave Charlotte a pulse. Either he finished plays in the paint or at the free-throw line, or he had a gravitational pull on the defense that freed up the Hornets’ other options.

By the time the Heat started to corral Lin, they’d diverted too much attention away from Walker and could no longer contain the other scoring guard.

“We love playing with each other,” Walker said of Lin, per A.J. Neuharth-Keusch of USA Today. “We just feed off each other. He was super aggressive making plays, then he got a little tired and it was my turn to go.”

Jeremy Lin AAAAAND ONE! #EnterTheSwarm https://t.co/mZMLvXdmkY

— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) April 26, 2016

As soon as the Hornets found their offensive rhythm, the Heat lost any semblance of their own. From the start of the second quarter through the first two-plus minutes of the third, Charlotte embarked on a 36-13 run.

Miami finally found its footing, trimming what became an 18-point deficit down to two midway through the period, but Lin once again responded. He supplied 10 straight points for the Hornets to end the third and start the fourth, including a banked-in triple that had Lin shrugging like Charlotte’s owner Michael Jordan famously did during his own net-shredding postseason days.

Jeremy Lin (21 pts) does the Michael Jordan shrug – to Michael Jordan – on his way back up court after banking in a shot.

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