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Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks scored 25 points and registered 7 assists in a 99-92 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Saturday.

Having dropped 11 of their last 13 games, coach Mike D'Atoni and his Knicks were in dire need of a spark. He went to his bench and called on Lin, the third-string point guard, with just over 3 minutes remaining in the first quarter. What followed was a masterful performance that included two successful charges down the lane against the Nets' Deron Williams.

It has been a trying road for Lin. He was released by the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets before landing in New York, where he largely rode the bench. Lin was under-recruited in college and had to settle on Harvard after being passed up for scholarships from Cal, UCLA and Stanford. A Taiwanese-American, Lin has told alarming tales of discrimination at the collegiate level, having to endure racist taunts from opposing team's fans, including fans from Ivy League schools.

With Yao Ming's departure from the league, can Jeremy Lin rise to be the prominent Asian — better yet, Taiwanese American — force in the NBA?