It was only a year ago Jeremy Lin was at the center of the American sports universe, going from a player on the verge of being cut for a third time in a single season to scoring 38 points against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in the span of a few short weeks.
Now, just 12 months later, Lin is far away from the bright lights of New York and the heights of Linsanity, but still is playing well alongside James Harden in Houston's backcourt.
"I don't really spend much time reminiscing during the season, at least, but it's something that I'm thankful for and will always remember," said Lin, who scored nine points and added six assists in the Nets' 106-96 loss to the Rockets Friday night at Barclays Center. "I realize it's a little over a year ago, and that's just a little crazy to think about, to think about how much it's changed."
It was against the Nets — and, specifically, Deron Williams — that Linsanity began last February, when Lin came off the bench and scored 25 points in just under 36 minutes in a 99-92 Knicks' win at the Garden on Super Bowl Saturday.
But when Lin looked across the court at William, he still saw one of the league's elite point guards, despite the subpar season Williams has put together.
"He's a great, great, point guard," Lin said. "I know people are kind of on him and saying he's having an off-year, but, shoot, I'll take an off-year if it's whatever he's doing and how well he's playing.
"If that's his off-year, that just tells you how good he really is. Obviously his numbers may be down a little, but I think it's just a different role, different team, different style, but I think he's still a top, top point guard in the entire league."
As for Lin, he went through his own fair share of criticism this season when he started out slowly alongside Harden, who took off like a supernova after the Rockets acquired him in a trade with the Thunder just days before the start of the season.
But Harden and Lin have begun to look better together as the season has gone along, something both attributed to having more time to get used to one another. That was never more evident than it was Wednesday against the Thunder, when Harden scored 46 and Lin finished with 29 points, six rebounds and eight assists in a Rockets' win.
"I think with anybody you can't expect two players who like to make their teammates better and like to score the basketball mesh right away," Harden said. "It took us some time, and we're playing well. Last game, he played well and I played well, so it's just a matter of us playing more games, more practices and just communicating better."
When Lin left the Knicks, it looked like he was headed to a young Rockets team that was going to need time to develop to turn into a playoff contender, particularly in the loaded Western Conference, even after it acquired Harden. But Houston (31-26) has surprised everyone — including Lin himself — by spending the first half of the season occupying a playoff spot.
"I think we have exceeded expectations coming in, because no one really knew what to expected," said Lin, who entered the game averaging 12.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.9 steals. "We didn't even know what to expect.
"We're happy, but we're definitely not satisfied."
tbontemps@nypost.com
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