New York Knicks' Jeremy Lin gestures to teammates in the fourth quarter of their NBA basketball game against the Toronto Raptors in Toronto March 23, 2012. REUTERS/Fred ThornhillFred Thornhill/Reuters
For Jeremy Lin, there was no exchange of chest bumps, no screams of joy, when his long evening at the office with the New York Knicks was finally over.
When Lin and the Knicks were last in Toronto just over a month ago, it was Lin who hit a deep and dramatic three-point shot in the final seconds that won the game for his team and sent him into celebration mode.
Friday night at the Air Canada Centre it was get-even time for the Raptors, who played a physical, intimidating brand of basketball that resulted in a 96-79 victory that snapped a five-game New York win streak.
And Lin and the rest of his teammates left the court with their heads hung low.
"I'm not selling my team short," New York coach Mike Woodson said. "I mean tonight we just did not have the pop that we've had the last five games. We'll go back and break this tape down and try to learn from it."
After a dominating game against Toronto the last time, Lin was a non-factor Friday night.
After being give a rousing cheer by many of the capacity gathering of 19,800 during the introduction of the starting lineup, Lin would go on to struggle, hitting on just three of his nine shots and he would finish with six points.
As the game progressed, Lin was also booed whenever he touched the ball by the Raptors' faithful.
Lin also had four assists but made three of New York's 22 turnovers in the contest.
A zone defence that the Raptors relied on to plug up the paint for most of the night against the Knicks was a winning strategy.
"They did a good job defensively, took us out of our rhythm, gave us something we haven't seen in a while," Lin said. "And we didn't hit shots. We passed up open shots. It was just a tough night.
"We came out flat and they came out with a lot more urgency and a lot more energy."
New York forward Amar'e Stoudamire, who finished with 17 points, said the Knicks for whatever reason came up flat.
"It is really unacceptable," he said. "We have got to come out and play hard against teams like Toronto. We had a chance to win.
"Games like this you look back on the schedule and say we could have won that game."
The Raptors got a scare in the final moments when DeMar DeRozan, who led Toronto with a season-high 30 points, landed awkwardly on his ankle and appeared to be in a bit of discomfort.
After the game Toronto coach Dwane Casey said it didn't appear the injury was that severe.
"He tweaked it and he should be okay tomorrow," Casey said. "I think it scared him ore than anything else."