CBA All-Star Jeremy Lin scores 41 points but misses out on MVP award in loss to South

Jeremy Lin was the star of the show in his first Chinese Basketball Association All-Star Game in Guangzhou on Saturday night.

The Beijing Ducks guard scored 41 points for the North, but that was not enough to defeat the South in a high-scoring game that finished 167-166.

Lin was the top scorer, although 18 of his points came in a one-on-one three-point session against the South’s Zhao Rui that followed the first quarter.

In a post on Weibo, Lin confirmed his threes from the All-Star game would count as part of his charitable contribution this season.

“The three-pointer tonight is definitely included in the ‘three distraction’,” he wrote.

For every three-pointer he makes in the CBA, the 31-year-old has donated 3,000 yuan (US$435) to charity, with the Beijing Ducks agreeing to match that figure to make each three worth 6,000 yuan.

Lin also put up nine rebounds and five assists in his 27 minutes on court.

Guangdong Southern Tigers star Zhao, scorer of 30 points including his 18 against Lin, was named All-Star MVP after helping secure the South’s third win in a row.

“It is difficult to express my feelings in words,” Lin wrote on his Weibo account. “Played the All-Star Game for the first time in my life. Thank God for making me feel the most beautiful weekend!” He wrote a similar message in English on his Instagram account.

The game was the NBA champion’s first All-Star Game, having missed out when he was in the NBA. He was belatedly called up to the Rising Stars game following his dramatic rise with the New York Knicks in 2012 in the period that became known as Linsanity.

In China he was the star of the weekend, dominating the attention of fans and the media. Lin wrote that he “couldn’t stop smiling during the game”. He was also included in a trip to see pandas at a local zoo.

He was invited to judge Sunday’s dunk contest alongside the South’s star Yi Jianlian, with the pair judging the final at half-time.

Yi was the only player to get more of the public votes than Lin to decide the starting five for the All-Star teams.

He thanked the public for voting him in. “Thank you to all the fans who voted, I love you,” he wrote on Weibo before vowing to “keep going in the second half of the season!”

Lin has sat out the Ducks games this month and is expected to return to action when the league resumes in February following the Lunar New Year break.

Jeremy Lin pays tribute to Godfrey Gao ahead of All-Star game

There has been speculation in the Chinese media that Lin may be rushed back this month, even though it was agreed he would swap out for Justin Hamilton during January. The team haves won twice and lost once in Lin’s absence.