EASL: Jeremy Lin puts on a show as New Taipei deals Meralco second home loss

Jeremy Lin lived up to the billing as the former NBA star steered New Taipei to a huge second half en route to an 89-77 victory against host Meralco in the East Asia Super League at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City on Wednesday night.

The Kings have preserved their unbeaten run, improving to 3-0 to take a commanding leadership of Group B, while the Bolts fell to 1-4 after back-to-back losses. 

Meralco played catch-up almost the entire time in the first half but thanks to timely buckets from Allein Maliksi and import Zach Lofton, the Bolts were able to establish a slim 47-42 halftime lead.

However, the local team could not capitalize on that momentum as the Kings suddenly erupted in the following quarters behind Lin. 

Lin, who had stints with several NBA teams like the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, and Brooklyn Nets, unleashed two consecutive three-pointers to open the third with an 11-0 run before the Kings ended the penultimate period enjoying a 66-58 cushion. This gap stretched to as much as a 15-point lead midway in the fourth following a Chin-Min Yang triple, 79-64. 

Lofton then sank three free throws after drawing a foul from Kai-Yan Lee, then completed a fastbreak to cut Meralco's deficit to a single digit, 75-83, with 2:26 left in the clock. 

Despite this, the Bolts' comeback attempt fell short again. Just last week, Meralco sparked a fourth quarter rally but ultimately fell to Seoul SK with a narrow 81-80 loss. 

Lin put together a double-double outing of 23 points and 10 rebounds, alongside four assists and one steal, while Yang tallied 13 markers. 

Lofton paced Meralco with a team-high 20 points on top of five rebounds, and four assists while Maliksi, who dropped 10 points in the first half, was neutralized in the second half to finish with 12 markers, together with three boards and one dime. 

New Taipei will return to action on January 10 against the Ryukyu Golden Kings while Meralco takes on Seoul SK anew on February 7 to try to end its slump. 

—Bea Micaller/JKC, GMA Integrated News