Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak poured in 17 points apiece as the New York Knicks defeated the Atlanta Hawks 99-82 Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Carmelo Anthony added 15 points on 7-for-16 shooting in his second game back from a groin injury.

The win pushed the Knicks to 9-2 since Lin took over the point guard duties on February 4.

The Harvard sensation shot 6 for 11 against the Hawks and had nine assists on the night.

Wednesday's win raised the Knicks' record to 17-17 on the season for a team that hasn't been over .500 since January 12.

"We've waited 12 years for this for this comeback. I felt like 2000 playoffs, they rocked it," said one Knicks fan.

"Jeremy Lin is like, unbelievable. He's passing it to J.R. Smith, going up for alley-oops, it's unbelievable, it's crazy," said another.

The Knicks now hit the road to face the Miami Heat and their star player LeBron James in Florida on Thursday.

"They're so deep right now, deeper than the three that Miami has. I'm hoping for some good stuff," said a Knicks fan. "I'm really confident about tomorrow."

Thursday is also the NBA's All-Star break and Lin will take part in the Rising Stars game.

The Knicks next return home on February 29 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Meanwhile, the Knicks' play-by-play man is being punished by MSG Network for having used the phrase "chink in the armor" to describe Lin's turnovers during the Knicks' Friday game.

A spokeswoman for the network says the phrase used by Spero Dedes, which incorporates a slur against Chinese people, was inappropriate and inconsistent with the regard the network has for Lin and the Asian community.

Dedes said he's deeply sorry and that it was completely inadvertent.

There was no word Wednesday on what the punishment is, but he called the night game against Atlanta.

This came days after ESPN fired one employee and suspended another for using the same phrase as Dedes.