Taipei, Oct. 30 (CNA) Jeremy Lin, the first person of Taiwanese descent to make the roster of a National Basketball Association (NBA) team, made his regular season debut with the Golden State Warriors Saturday Taiwan time.
The 22-year-old point guard -- the first Harvard graduate to play in the NBA in 57 years -- received a standing ovation when he entered the game with 2: 32 left and the Warriors well out in front of the Los Angeles Clippers on their way to a 109-91 home victory.
Lin did not attempt a field goal or dish out an assist in his limited appearance, but he did register a steal, taking the ball away from Clippers backup center Brian Cook with 47.1 seconds left to play.
The Warriors turned the close game into a rout with a 32-13 third quarter and led by as many as 20 points in the final period, giving Lin a chance to get game experience.
The 1.90-meter player, who did not play in the Warriors' 132-128 season-opening win over the Houston Rockets, was kept on the team's roster to provide depth at point guard behind starter Stephen Curry.
Lin is behind both Curry and Charlie Bell on the team's depth chart at the position, but when Curry suffered an ankle injury during the game, neither Bell nor Lin replaced him. A group of small forwards filled in instead.
Lin, who grew up in nearby Palo Alto, California, was not selected in the NBA Draft in June but was signed by the Warriors to a two-year contract after his strong performance in the summer league.
His parents emigrated to the United States from Taiwan in the 1970s.
Lin has already become a celebrity in Taiwan, a status cemented during a trip to Taipei in late July for a charity game featuring NBA players. The July charity game was organized by Chinese All-Star center Yao Ming, who plays for the Houston Rockets. (By Chris Wang) enditem/ls