GREENBURGH, N.Y. — LeBron James beat Jeremy Lin in a head-to-head matchup between the Heat and the Knicks before the All-Star break.
And now he has beaten him out for NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month.
James captured his second consecutive such award Friday night after leading Miami to an 11-2 record in February.
The award came on a night when James had 35 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three blocks in a 99-98 loss at the Utah Jazz that snapped a nine-game Miami winning streak.
James led the conference in scoring in February (24.6 ppg) and posted double-figure point totals in all 13 of Miami’s games. He finished in the top 10 in the East in assists (6.5 apg), field goal percentage (.540) and steals (1.69 spg). He scored his 18,000th career point in a win over Philadelphia on Feb. 3.
Lin led the Knicks on a 10-3 surge during the month of February, including a seven-game winning streak.
During that stretch, he went for 38 points and seven assists in a win over Kobe Bryant and he Lakers, hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the Toronto Raptors and tallied 28 points and 14 assists in a Garden win over the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks.
He averaged 20.9 points and 8.4 assists.
Before the award was announced, Lin said he wasn’t looking to win it because it would make the target on his back even bigger.
“I’m not worried about that,” Lin said, looking ahead to Sunday’s tilt at the Boston Celtics. “The Celtics aren’t worried about that. If anything it’s going to motivate other teams to come at me harder. I’m just trying to get ready. If I let that stuff affect me, I’m going to take my foot of the gas. I’m going to make sure I don’t do that and the team doesn’t do that.”
Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said before the award was announced he believed Lin should win it.
“I would hope so just because he’s our guy,” D’Antoni said. “He’s had a great story. If somebody beats him out then they must have had a great month because he’s had an unbelievable month.”