Jeremy Lin started his NBA career with the Mavericks' Las Vegas summer league team in 2010, when he was the best guard on a roster that included recent Dallas first-round picks Rodrigue Beaubois and Dominique Jones.

The Mavericks offered him a one-year guaranteed contract but he chose to go to Golden State. Two years later, he's in New York and he's the talk of the league.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban had little regret about letting Lin go. He's happy to see him succeed in New York.

"The fact that it's happening in New York is great. This is where all the media buyers are, the advertising agencies," he said at court side Sunday before the Knicks' win over the Mavericks. "Any time you can attract attention from non-customers and turn them into customers, it's a beautiful thing."

Cuban believes Lin's mental makeup has played a big factor in his recent success.

"There's multiple guys on every NBA roster that in the right opportunity can get 20 and 7," Cuban said. "Not everyone has the mindset or the mental makeup that Jeremy does so he deserves all the credit."

HELPING HAND: Lin led the Knicks with a career-high 14 assists on Sunday. Overall, the Knicks had 21. For the fourth time in the last five games, the Knicks have had 20 or more assists. They have won all four and are 10-3 on the season when recording at least 20 assists..... The Knicks also had 13 steals -- their second-highest total of the season. They entered play Sunday ranked second in the league in steals per game (9.32).