Deron Williams lights up Lin; Derrick Rose returns; Spurs win again

Two weeks ago, Linsanity all began when Mike D’Antoni pointed down to the end of the bench, told Jeremy Lin to take his warmups off and go give it a shot against an unsuspecting Deron Williams.

A comeback victory ensued, Lin was named the Knicks’ starter for the next game, and we really don’t need to rehash all the details of the phenomenon that captured the attention of every NBA fan from President Barack Obama on down.

An All-Star, and a player with a fierce competitive edge, Williams was ready and aware the second time around.

Interested not only in subduing the Lin hysteria but also defending his personal pride, Williams attacked early and often on his way to a season-high 38 points, including a career high eight 3-pointers, with six assists as New Jersey stunned the Knicks 100-92 Tuesday night for New York’s second straight loss against one of the NBA’s bottom-dwellers, this latter one coming with Carmelo Anthony back on the court for the fist time in two weeks.

Playing his third game in three nights, it was obvious that Williams took this game personally after their previous meeting.

“We definitely had this one circled,” Williams said. “The whole team did. I personally did, because it stuck in my mind, it all started on me.”

“I don’t really watch SportsCenter,’’ Williams said. “I don’t really watch too many games. I do see Twitter. Every three lines were, ‘Jeremy Lin destroys Deron Williams.’ I definitely took offense from that from the first game.”

Anthony finally made his much-anticipated return, and Baron Davis suited up for the first time this season. Neither made much of a contribution, and the thought of disturbing the Knicks’ continuity is clearly weighing on Anthony.

From Howard Beck of The New York Times: “The Knicks welcomed back Anthony — who had missed seven games because of a strained groin — finally introduced Baron Davis and tried to assimilate J. R. Smith, but all the change seemed to undermine them… The loss will only stoke concerns about the Knicks’ chemistry, a subject of widespread speculation over the last two weeks, as Lin led the Knicks to win after win while Anthony recovered from a strained groin. Anthony was ineffective in his return, finishing with 11 points and 6 assists while going 4 for 11 from the field. Anthony said he was a little rusty but otherwise felt fine and assured that he would work his way back into the offense. He seemed to anticipate a harsh reaction, however. Asked what was wrong with the offense, which produced a .400 shooting percentage, Anthony said: “I really don’t know how to answer that question. I’ll see tomorrow what you write about.” He also insisted, repeatedly, that he would not alter the Knicks’ new winning template. “I want Jeremy to have the ball,” Anthony said. “Hands down, I want him to have the ball. I want him to create for me. I want him to create for Amar’e. I want him to create for everybody and still be aggressive, as he’s been over the past two weeks. I want that.”

Though it was only one game, there is certainly some cause for concern. Lin, for the first time during his run, seemed tentative and indecisive at times as he looked to get Anthony involved.

Smith missed all five of his 3-point attempts, and Davis logged 10 minutes and shot 1-for-2, making his only 3-point attempt. The Knicks were minus-12 during Davis’ time on the floor, and minus-22 in Jared Jeffries’  24 minutes. (They were a plus-14 in Tyson Chandler’s 24 minutes.)

Elsewhere, the Chicago Bulls got back on track after their embarrassing loss to the Nets.

Derrick Rose returned from a five-game hiatus and unlike Anthony, looked spry as ever on his way to 23 points, five rebounds and six assists to help defeat the reeling Atlanta Hawks 90-79. The Hawks continued to play lackluster on offense, scoring fewer than 80 points for the third time in four games _ all of which have been losses.

Rose avoided the media in the locker room after the game, perhaps to avoid questions about the Pau Gasol-for-Carlos Boozer trade possibility.

From Rick Telander of Chicago Sun-Times: ‘‘It was great,’’ Bulls forward Luol Deng said of Rose’s aggressiveness from the start. ‘‘It was good to have him back.’’ That kind of locker-room praise had to suffice because, atypically, Rose bolted from the arena before reporters had a chance to talk to him. It may be that he is tired of discussing his back, about which we can only hope there is nothing more to be said. Best outcome? His back is never an issue again. Sick of Boozer, so they say. Or it could be Rose didn’t want to talk about the rumor, first reported in Spain, then in English on NBA writer Chris Sheridan’s blog, that Rose wouldn’t mind, would even welcome, the Bulls trading power forward Carlos Boozer to the Lakers for center Pau Gasol. The hinted message was that Rose is not thrilled with Boozer’s defensive efforts. But then, who is? And rumors about trades are as hard to concoct as pouring water on a sponge. Deng looked genuinely surprised when he was asked if he had heard anything about the story. As he sat in front of his locker, icing both ankles, his right shin, his left knee and his left forearm, Deng said somewhat frostily, and with a dollop of sarcasm, that he and his teammates knew nothing about any such thing. ‘‘I’m sure soon I’ll be in a trade, and then it will all go away,’’ he said. ‘‘And then there’ll be another trade.’’

(Memo to Telander: It is not a blog. It is a Web site. And if you want to argue the point, I will send the dynamic dinosaur duo of Mark Heisler and Jan Hubbard to your house, where they will beat you to a pulp with their walking canes.- CS)

Now, we will turn to what is truly the most amazing story unfolding in the NBA over the past two weeks.

The Spurs.

Seven straight wins on the road, where they are on the Western portion of a nine-game trip.

Eleven consecutive wins overall.

Despite receiving news that Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter would miss the next two weeks due to injuries, the Spurs have found ways to win behind Tony Parker, who again controlled the game with 23 points and 11 assists. He received help from a new “Big Three” member and a big shot from Richard Jefferson.

From Mike Monroe of San Antonio Express-News: It included All-Star point guard Tony Parker, forward Tim Duncan and reserve big man Matt Bonner, who combined for 63 points, each scoring at least 20. “Yes,” Duncan said, chuckling, poking a bit of fun at Bonner. “We’re a new Big Three.” Duncan found easy humor after Monday’s game because the Spurs continue to win regardless of circumstance, but he made certain to acknowledge what Bonner was able to do for a team that could ill-afford to play from the inside out without Splitter, who has been so good in the post this season. “Matty was key for us tonight,” Duncan said. “He was great for us. They have some talented bigs down there, and to be able to spread the floor and continue to score points for us when we really needed it (was big). “When he plays like that, our team is that much better.” The biggest shot came from Richard Jefferson. Scoreless through the first three quarters, Jefferson nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner to give the Spurs a 105-100 lead with 6.5 seconds remaining. “You just have to have a lot of confidence in yourself,” Jefferson said. “I haven’t shot the ball well or played particularly well lately, but you have to be ready when you get the opportunity.”

Elsewhere…

• The Magic, playing the Bucks for the third time in 10 days, again made a fourth quarter run to squeak out another victory, 93-90 behind what proved to be a game-winning 3-pointer by Ryan Anderson. Dwight Howard led Orlando with 28 points and 16 rebounds. The Bucks have lost six straight at home, a streak that last happened 12 years ago. On a brighter note, Ersan Ilyasova continued his dominant run with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
• Kyle Lowry controlled the game with 24 points, seven rebounds and nine assists as the Rockets defeated the Grizzlies 97-93. Both teams started the night 18-14. The Grizzlies had their four-game winning streak snapped and have now lost 11 straight in Houston, dating back to 2006.
• With Kevin Garnett out and Rajon Rondo serving the first game of a two-game suspension for throwing the ball at a ref, the Celtics had little chance as the Mavericks easily won 89-73 behind Dirk Nowitzki’s 26 points and 16 rebounds. It was a night of milestones for the German as he moved to No. 20 on the NBA scoring list as well as reaching 1,000 career blocked shots. Boston has lost six of seven.
• The Thunder easily defeated New Orleans 101-93 and snapped the Hornets’ three-game winning streak while winning their third straight as Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook continued their offensive onslaught with 31 points apiece. They have now won 10 straight at home, where they are 13-1 — tied with San Antonio for the NBA’s best home record.
• The Nuggets played a second straight overtime game but came out victorious this time as they defeated the Timberwolves 103-101. Aaron Afflalo hit the game-winning floater with 33.7 seconds remaining and finished with 20 points while Al Harrington led all scorers with 31 points. The Wolves had a chance to tie the game with a 3-pointer, but with 3.9 seconds remaining, Martell Webster stole rookie Julyan Stone’s inbounds pass and foolishly went in for a dunk, effectively ending the game with little time remaining. The Nuggets have now won 17 of the last 18 meetings with the Timberwolves.
• The Suns went on a ridiculous 31-6 run in the third quarter to defeat the Wizards 104-88 and win on consecutive nights for the first time this season. Marcin Gortat led the way with 20 points while Nash added 12 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists in just three quarters.
• The Warriors defeated the Clippers 104-97 behind Ekpe Udoh, who started for the first time in place of an ill Andris Biedrins and produced 19 points and eight rebounds. Monta Ellis led all scorers with 32 points and David Lee added 24 points and 13 rebounds to help snap a three-game skid.
• The Lakers led by as many as 30 points before holding on to beat the Blazers 103-92. Kobe Bryant had 28 points and Andrew Bynum added 14 points and 19 rebounds. Pau Gasol, on the trading block according to an official statement from general manager Mitch Kupchak, had 16 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. The Blazers managed to score just seven points in the first quarter, the fewest in franchise history.