NBA: Jeremy Lin admits to 'terrible' performances for Houston after defeat to struggling Raptors

The man who sparked 'Linsanity' last season admits he is 'not doing close' to the performances which made his name with the New York Knicks since moving to the Rockets in the summer.

Houston Rockets' Jeremy Lin fouls Toronto's DeMar DeRozan.
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Jeremy Lin admits he is 'not doing close' to his best with the Houston Rockets after watching his side hand the Toronto Raptors their first consecutive wins in eight months.

The Taiwanese-American has only shown flashes of the brilliance which made his name last season since joining Houston from the New York Knicks on a three-year, $25.1m (Dh92m) deal.

"I am not doing close to what I am capable of doing," said Lin, who averaged 14.6 points in 35 games last season.

"I'm my harshest critic and I'll go ahead and say I'm doing terrible."

It has been a whirlwind of a year for Lin, who was virtually an unknown bench player before going on an improbable multi-game stretch of greatness that made him one of the National Basketball Association's most popular players and gave birth to the "Linsanity" phenomenon.

Regardless of his play, there will surely be plenty of eyes on Lin come Monday when he plays his first game at the New York Knicks since his off-season move to Houston - where he will be looking to improve on a performance that saw him make just seven points against the Raptors.

"If I could turn it on like a switch like that easy I would obviously turn it on but that's not how it works," he said.

The home side claimed their first back-to-back wins in eight months during the 103-96 victory. Jose Calderón led the way with 18 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds.

The Los Angeles Lakers have won their first back-to-back games in almost a month after topping the Philadelphia 76ers 111-98.

Kobe Bryant scored 34 points and Metta World Peace added 19 with 16 rebounds for the Lakers, who last enjoyed a winning streak of any kind with three victories between November 16 and 20.

But even with the win they remain three games below .500.

JaVale McGee came off the bench to score 19 points as the Denver Nuggets enjoyed a comfortable 122-97 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

Damian Lillard's buzzer-beating three-pointer lifted the Portland Trail Blazers to a 95-94 victory over the reeling New Orleans Hornets.

The Hornets had rallied from 16 down to tie the game at 92-92 inside the final minute but even though Portland lost LaMarcus Aldridge to a late injury, Lillard's dagger inflicted a sixth-straight loss on New Orleans.

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