Lin-sanity now stands at 8-2.

A day after beating the defending champion Dallas Mavericks, the New York Knicks lost their second game of the Jeremy Lin era Monday night at Madison Square Garden, falling 100-92 to the New Jersey Nets.

Lin, the Knicks' breakout point guard, shot 7 of 18 for 21 points before fouling out of the game with 44 seconds remaining.

The game saw the return of injured star Carmelo Anthony, who tallied 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting.

The loss dropped the Knicks to one game below .500 on the season.

New Jersey pulled away from the Knicks with a 13-1 run in the third period to take an 18-point advantage into the fourth. The Knicks responded by cutting the Nets' lead to eight, but they couldn't complete the comeback.

The Nets' Deron Williams led all scorers with 38 points.

Monday's game was the Knicks' second loss to a sub-.500 team in the last three games, following Friday's loss to the New Orleans Hornets.

The Knicks entered Monday's game with an 8-1 record since Lin took over the point guard duties and established himself as a rising star.