"What happens when the hype doesn't do justice to the truth? When the breathless hysteria isn't equal to the black-and-white of a stat sheet, or the relentless roar of an arena in full, epic spasm? When you empty the thesaurus of adjectives and try inventing new ones, like the end of a "Words With Friends" game?

For crying out loud, what happens when Jeremy Lin outduels Kobe Bryant?

"A once in a lifetime thing," is how Mike D'Antoni described it.

"A dream," is how Jeremy Lin himself put it, and honestly, it wouldn't be possible for the kid to have any idea what he did, what he's doing, what he's done for this team and this sport and this city.

Maybe, until now, it was possible to believe we were getting ahead of ourselves, that we were blaring our horns a little too loudly and a little too brashly, and it is easy to understand why we would be cautious about that.

But now? After this? After seeing Lin electrify Madison Square Garden with 38 points and seven assists (and, yes, with six turnovers; at this point, even his gaffes are part of the charm)? After watching him turn 19,763 witnesses into a cacophonous congregation, the noise building to ear-splitting crescendos regularly during this 92-85 victory over the Lakers?

After seeing him take over the fourth quarter as coolly and as easily as if he were a six-time All-Star?

"You don't see many guys play like that in their whole career, let alone these past three or four games," D'Antoni said, his voice filled with wonder. "And he answered a lot of questions tonight too: Can he pull a trigger in a big moment? Can he go against the defense when they force him a certain way?""