Lin came in to control a sluggish offense, adding a career-best seven assists while outplaying Nets All-Star point guard Deron Williams.
“Jeremy came out and gave us a great spark off the bench, and that was phenomenal for us tonight,’’ forward Amare Stoudemire said.
Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler each added 17 points for the Knicks, who won for just the third time in 14 games. They fell just short in losses to the Bulls and Celtics the previous two nights.
Williams had 21 points and 11 assists but shot 7 of 19 for the Nets, while Kris Humphries added 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Lin was the catalyst for the Knicks, who have been desperate for production at point guard while they wait for Baron Davis to finally become available.
Lin was a hit with the fans practically from the moment he checked in, and some of the loudest cheers of this disappointing season roared through Madison Square Garden when his 3-point play made it 95-86 with 2:03 remaining.
He scored on the next possession to make it an 11-point game as chants of “Jeremy! Jeremy!’’ broke out.
Carmelo Anthony had just 11 points on 3 of 15 shooting, perhaps tired on the third straight night of games.
Jazz 96, Lakers 87 - Al Jefferson scored 18 points, Paul Millsap had 16, and Earl Watson keyed a game-clinching 14-0, fourth-quarter run to lift Utah over visiting Los Angeles.
Watson had 8 points and six assists in the fourth quarter as the Jazz beat the Lakers for the first time in three tries this season.
After Watson stole the ball from Pau Gasol at the top of the key and fed Derrick Favors for a dunk, Lakers coach Mike Brown went ballistic and charged after official Zach Zarba. Brown received two quick technicals and was ejected with 8:34 to play.
Kobe Bryant scored 26 points and Gasol had 24 points and 16 rebounds, but the Lakers dropped to 3-8 on the road.
Cavaliers 91, Mavericks 88 - Rookie Kyrie Irving made a driving layup in traffic with 15.8 seconds left to lift host Cleveland over defending NBA champion Dallas.
