WHAT IT MEANS: OK, this is getting Lin-sane.

The Knicks have won three straight games for the first time since early January. In all three, they've been led by Jeremy Lin, who five days ago was the team's third-string guard.

But the latest might have been the most impressive, especially from a team perspective.

With the Knicks missing Carmelo Anthony (groin) and Amare Stoudemire (death in the family), Lin scored 23 points and handed out a career-high 10 assists to lift New York (11-15) to a 107-93 win over the Wizards (5-21) on Wednesday night.

In the past three games, Lin has averaged 25.3 points and 8.3 assists.

THE GOOD: After a slow start (the Knicks started 4-for-21, and Lin picked up two quick fouls), the former Harvard standout got going.

He returned to the game with 10 minutes to go in the half and the Knicks down by 10. Four minutes later, they were up by two thanks to six points and four assists from Lin. The Knicks finished with 35 points in the quarter.

The second half was much of the same for Lin. After Washington clawed back early in the third, Lin answered, leading the Knicks on a 12-2 run.

The highlight came when Lin drove the lane and finished with a hard right-handed dunk to put New York up 72-66.

TYSON'S PUNCHOUT: Tyson Chandler had 25 points and 11 rebounds. He went 11-of-14 from the line. Steve Novak had his second strong game with Lin running the show, finishing with 19 points (5-of-9 from 3-point range).

Landry Fields had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Iman Shumpert finished with 17 points off the bench.

THE BAD: The Knicks allowed Washington to claw back into it in the third quarter by starting the quarter 1-for-5 with four turnovers.

They started the game 4-for-21, including 1-for-8 from beyond the arc.

WHAT'S NEXT: The Knicks return to the Garden on Friday to take on Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. Once again, they will be without Anthony and Stoudemire. Anthony is expected to be out one to two weeks, and Stoudemire is expected to return for practice Monday after mourning the death of his older brother, Hazell. Hazell's funeral is scheduled for Saturday.

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