MANILA, Philippines – It is official. Linsanity is everywhere.

Jeremy Lin is the talk of the town — no, the world — and deservingly so. After Lin posted 136 points in his last 5 games, the most for any player’s first 5 starts since the American Basketball Association (ABA) merged with the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1976, it is hard to argue otherwise.

And Lin just gave the world reason to talk about him — again.

The New York Knicks extended their winning streak to 7 on Wednesday night, February 15 (Thursday morning in Manila), thanks in large part to Lin’s 10 points and career-high 13 assists, after their 100-85 victory over the Sacramento Kings. It was his second consecutive double-double. The night before, Lin finished with 27 points and 11 assists.

What a game that was. It was, for many fans, the game that converted them to full-fledged Linsanity status.

The night before, Tuesday, February 14, the 23-year-old point guard nailed a 3-pointer in the dying seconds of their game against the Toronto Raptors. With only 0.5 seconds left on the clock, Lin’s shot put the Knicks up by 3, giving them a 90-87 victory over the Raptors. He finished the game with 27 points and 11 assists.

Reactions to Lin

A BBC report showed reactions to Lin in Taiwan where his parents are from. Lin has transformed into a local hero in the small nation, being the first Asian-American basketball player of Taiwanese heritage to play in the NBA, not to mention, take it by storm.

Twitter was also flooded with reactions to Lin’s phenomenal performance from the world over, including local fans in the Philippines and supporters from the United States.

Most interestingly, even NBA personalities turned to the social media site in the past few days to express their high regard for the new player.

Lin’s climb to success is an inspiring fairy tale story fit for the movies. He finished high school without a basketball scholarship, and attended Harvard where he majored in Economics and played for their basketball team. He graduated undrafted and was an afterthought recruit of the Knicks. New York fans have welcomed the surprise star with open arms after the team’s consecutive, disappointing performances in past seasons.

The Knicks will play the New Orleans Hornets on Friday, February 17. – Rappler.com