President Clinton talks Lin at Heat-Magic game

MIAMI — Bill Clinton might be a Yale guy. But he loves Harvard man Jeremy Lin.

The former president attended the Miami Heat's 90-78 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday at AmericanAirlines Arena. But the questions he got were more about a certain sensation for the New York Knicks.

"All these people . . . were asking me about Jeremy Lin," President Clinton said after the game in an exclusive interview with FOX Sports Florida.

So what did President Clinton have to say?

"I said, 'I'm a New Yorker. I love him. He's great,"' said Clinton, who earned his law degree at Yale, the rival of Lin's Harvard. "But they're (the fans) all curious (about Lin). Everybody is."

Clinton stayed for the entire game, even though it was a rout. During a timeout in the third quarter, he was presented with a Miami Heat jersey with No. 42 on the back.

No, that had nothing to do with Pat Cummings, Kevin Willis, Walt Williams, P.J. Brown, James Posey, Shavlik Randolph or Jerry Stackhouse, who all have worn the number for the Heat.

It's because Clinton was the 42nd president of the U.S.

"I loved it," Clinton said of attending Sunday's game. "That was nice (getting the No. 42 jersey). The intensity of the game is great."

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters after the game he didn't even know Clinton was on hand, even though he sat at midcourt across from the Heat bench and next to Miami owner Micky Arison.

"I didn't even know," Spoelstra said. "Do I still have a chance to shake his hand?"

Then Spoelstra wondered why Clinton wasn't at the earlier game Sunday, Dallas at New York, which was televised by ABC, as was the Heat win.

"I'm surprised that he's not at one of the games up north," Spoelstra said of the game that featured Lin totaling 28 points and 14 assists in New York's 104-97 win. "The earlier game. That seems to be the hot game right now."

Clinton wasn't at Madison Square Garden. But he undoubtedly would have received the same questions about Lin that he did at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Chris Tomasson can be reached at christomasson@hotmail.com or on Twitter @christomasson