Lin embraces his first all-star weekend

ORLANDO, Florida— Jeremy Lin said Friday he is trying to embrace the moment and have fun with all the attention he is receiving during his first NBA all-star weekend.

Lin, who went from sleeping on his brother's couch to reviving the struggling New York Knicks franchise in just a couple of weeks, spoke after competing in the NBA'S rising stars challenge game.

Lin shot one- of- four and finished with two points in just under nine minutes of playing time as his Team Shaq lost 146-133 to Team Chuck.

"Just to be here and to see the company and all the players that are here is just, it's been unbelievable," Lin said. "I'm just trying to take it all in and embrace it and enjoy it every step of the way."

Lin said now that the contest was finished he hoped to use the break from the regular season schedule to get some rest and prepare for the remainder of the season.

"I am just trying to relax, recover and let some pains go away," he said.

Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Kyrie Irving scored 34 points, added nine assists and was eight-of-eight from three- point range to lead Team Chuck to victory. Irving was named MVP of the game.

Greg Monroe had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Tristan Thompson added 20 points to lead Team Shaq at Amway Center arena.

But even with all the star power in the game, Lin was getting the lion's share of attention.

"I'm definitely surprised that people are talking about Lin-sanity or whatever," Lin said.

"I think hopefully as the season progresses, it will go from that to the New York Knicks and hopefully the Knicks can win basketball games. Hopefully we can make a good push after the all-star break and people will start talking about the Knicks and not necessarily me."

Lin, an Asian-american, helped the Knicks to a seven-game win streak but is coming off a modest performance in a 102-88 loss to Miami on Thursday. Miami's smothering defence held Lin to just one-of-11 shooting.

Lin's underdog story has touched basketball fans around the globe. Undrafted out of Harvard he was cut by two clubs late last year before he caught on with the Knicks, signing two days after Christmas.

He saw limited action in his first nine appearances in New York, averaging just six minutes a game.