MIAMI — US President Barack Obama and new Asian-American NBA star Jeremy Lin were both in Miami on Thursday, but basketball fan Obama will not be stopping in to check out Lin's New York Knicks play against Miami.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said that while members of the president's staff had hoped Obama might attend the Heat-Knicks matchup, it will not happen.
"We have been encouraging him to 'call an audible' if you will... so that we can stay in Miami and watch the game," Carney said, using an American football term that means a change in plans.
"Unfortunately, that's not going to be possible."
The Heat feature NBA superstars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade and co-own the NBA's best record with Oklahoma City at 26-7 as the league prepares for a mid-season break for the annual All-Star Game to be staged Sunday in Orlando.
Lin has been the NBA's biggest story this month, coming off the Knicks bench after being cut by two other clubs to have the best performance of any NBA player in his first 10 starts since 1976.
Lin, whose parents are from Taiwan, has become a phenomenon because of his scoring, averaging nearly 24 points a game, his passing skills and his clutch shooting ability, including a last-second game winner at Toronto.
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