Jeremy Lin had a triumphant second return to Madison Square Garden Thursday as he helped the Houston Rockets (6-4) score a hard-earned 109-106 win over the New York Knicks (3-5).

Lin, who became an instant worldwide sensation in the 2011-12 NBA season during his famous run in a Knicks uniform, scored 21 points, while also tallying five rebounds and three assists.

"I was just having fun out there," Lin said in an interview with the New York Daily News. "You know I miss playing at the Garden. To be able to come back here once a year, it's great. The fans are great. Atmosphere was great, incredible. It was just a lot of fun for everyone."

But despite his third-straight strong performance on Thursday night, the 25-year-old point guard refused to take credit, saying that their victory was a product of total team effort. James Harden had a team-high 36 points, while Dwight Howard tallied seven points and 15 rebounds.

"We played more as a team today. We really moved the ball, shared the ball. We played really unselfish today and we also did what we needed to do defensively," Lin said after the game as reported by ESPN.

Before his 21-point performance against the Knicks, Lin showed a glimpse of Linsanity in his last two games, where he averaged 32.5 points -- the best two-game stretch of his young career in terms of scoring.

The former Harvard University standout erupted for 31 points on 10-for-17 in their 110-104 win over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.

It was followed by a 34-point performance against the Philadelphia 76ers in which he also dished out 12 assists and converted franchise record-tying nine three-pointers, but his efforts were wasted as the Rockets absorbed a 117-123 defeat.

Lin, who is averaging 18.4 points and 4.7 assists per game this season, has now won in his two games in a Rockets uniform at the Madison Square Garden.