Knicks fans have found a hero in Harvard product Jeremy Lin, who scored 28 points Monday night in his first career start and led his shorthanded team past the Jazz.
But New York coach Mike D'Antoni was not pleased with the Madison Square Garden faithful, who booed Jared Jeffries on an inconsistent night for the Knicks forward who was filling in for Amar'e Stoudemire (with his family in Florida after the death of his brother).
"Indulge me for a second, anybody who boos Jared Jeffries has got to reexamine their life a little bit," D'Antoni said after Jeffries scored 13 points while shooting 3-for-9 and missing a couple of layups in the process. "I love our fans and I like Madison Square Garden, the arena, but here's a guy who came back to us, minimum contract. He could've gone to a lot of other teams. He plays as hard as anybody could possibly ever play, with injuries, everything you ask him. He takes every charge, every dirty play, every rebound. He works every second."
Jeffries insisted he still enjoys playing in the Garden and showed his appreciation for D'Antoni standing by him.
"I'll die for him," Jeffries said. "I'll leave blood on the court … because he's the best coach in the NBA."
