NBA: Rockets detonate from downtown as Jeremy Lin gets revenge on Warriors

Jeremy Lin made sure the Golden State Warriors remembered that they had waived him two offseasons ago. Lin, who figured in 29 games for the Warriors during the 2010-11 season, scored a game-high 28 points, while the Houston Rockets dropped an NBA record-tying 23 triples, en route to a 140-109 blowout, Tuesday (Wednesday, PHL time) at the Toyota Center in Houston. [Related: Warriors have enough versus Mavericks, pick up third win in a row] After being waived by the Warriors, Lin was picked up and waived again by the Rockets, before heading over to New York and sparking "Linsanity." The Knicks would later opt not to re-sign him to a long-term deal, allowing him to return to Houston. The win allowed the Rockets to improve to 27-23, moving up to a loss behind the Utah Jazz, who occupy the seventh seed out West. Golden State on the other hand fell to 30-18, tying them with the Denver Nuggets in the fifth and sixth slots. An explosive first quarter saw the two squads combine for 75 points in 12 minutes, with the Rockets up by a hair, 38-37. Houston managed seven straight to start the second quarter however, putting them ahead for good. Later in the second, three straight triples by Toney Douglas, James Harden, and Patrick Patterson gave them a double-digit lead, 61-49, and then another 9-0 run near the end of the period inflated their advantage to a commanding 77-59 at halftime. David Lee scored the first points of the second half in an effort to spark his team, but a 16-2 counterattack by the Rockets dashed that comeback try, arming them with a 93-66 score. Come the fourth, seven unanswered by the Warriors made it 115-97, 7:22 left to play, but another dry spell on offense by Golden State gave way to nine straight for Houston, rebuilding their buffer to 124-97 with five minutes remaining. Still, there were some fireworks left in the game, as rookie Draymond Green and Marcus Morris were thrown out late, the former for a flagrant 2 foul, and the latter for technical fouls. Lin's 28 points came on 10-of-16 shooting, plus a 5-of-8 clip from downtown, in addition to nine assists and a steal. James Harden added 18 points and seven more dimes, while Chandler Parsons added to the barrage with 16 points, 12 from downtown. Overall, the Rockets shot 23-of-40 from outside the arc. In fact, they shot better on triples, 57.5 percent, than they did in-close, 45.1 percent. The Warriors drew 20 points from Jarret Jack off the bench, while David Lee had 18 points and seven rebounds. - Adrian Dy, GMA News