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As the Charlotte Hornets sprinted through one of the NBA's most dominant post-All-Star break runs, their path to playoff success seemed obvious.

Kemba Walker controlling the show. Threes flying all-around. Al Jefferson balancing the offense underneath. And Nicolas Batum seamlessly filling any gap as it surfaces.

But those weren't what allowed the Hornets to turn the tide and score an 89-85 victory during a win-or-be-in-serious-trouble Game 4. Already trailing 2-1 in their best-of-seven series with the Miami Heat, Charlotte was blitzed out of the gate: down 8-2 after three minutes, 13-4 through the first five-and-a-half.

Then, super sixth man Jeremy Lin checked in. And the Hornets almost immediately came to life.

The Heat couldn't stand next to Lin without hacking him; Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald provided an example involving Dwyane Wade:

And when Miami's defenders did stand their ground, Lin raced right past them. His dribble penetrations gave Charlotte a pulse. Either he finished plays in the paint, at the free-throw line, or he had a gravitational pull on the defense that freed up other options.

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By the time the Heat started to corral Lin, they'd diverted too much attention away from Walker and could no longer contain the other scoring guard.

"We love playing with each other," Walker said of Lin, per AJ Neuharth-Keusch of USA Today. "We just feed off each other. He was super aggressive making plays, then he got a little tired and it was my turn to go." The team's official Twitter account provided a Lin highlight:

As soon as the Hornets found their offensive rhythm, the Heat lost any semblance of their own.

From the start of the second quarter through the first two-plus minutes of the third, Charlotte embarked on a 36-13 run. Miami finally found its footing, trimming what became an 18-point deficit down to two midway through the period, but Lin once again responded.

He supplied 10 straight points for the Hornets to end the third and start the fourth, including a banked-in triple that had Lin shrugging like Charlotte's owner Michael Jordan famously did during his own net-shredding postseason days, as ESPN's Rachel Nichols and The Cauldron pointed out:

"That was kind of Angels in the Outfield, a blessing from God," Lin said afterward, per CBS Sports' James Herbert. "That shot, when I let it go, I was like, 'Yo, there's no chance this goes in.' And it went in. So thank God."

Walker took complete control late, scoring 11 of his playoff career-high 34 in the fourth quarter. Lin tallied 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting, hitting 8-of-9 at the charity stripe.

"Walker and Lin, they put you on your heels," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, per Steve Reed of NBA.com. "They are aggressive and make you have to defend with position. You have to expect that in the playoffs—great performances."

It's quietly turning into that kind of series for Queen City's surprise savior. After failing to make much of a mark through the Hornets' first two games, Lin has left a massive imprint on the last two—not coincidentally, both Charlotte victories.

His team-high 18 points helped the Hornets capitalize on the Heat's offensive lulls during Saturday's 96-80 win, even though rookie Frank Kaminsky's 13 third-quarter points dominated headlines. And Lin's Game 4 performance will likely take a back seat to Walker's coolness in the clutch, despite the fact the former's quick strikes as both scorer and distributor ultimately eased the latter's hunt for his own shots.

Lin's numbers don't quite jump off the page yet, but it could be only a matter of time. His plus-25 is the Hornets' best plus/minus of the playoffs and ties Luol Deng for the second-highest in this series behind Wade's plus-48.

It's almost impossible to overstate the importance of this increasing production.

Even with Walker's Game 4 eruption, he still has the playoff shooting marks of a volume scorer (39.3 from the field, 24.0 outside). Charlotte's three-point attack has been the first round's worst in makes (4.0 per game) and percentage (23.5). Jefferson only serves in part-time duty (24.3 minutes per game). And Batum has been reduced to a spectator by a lingering left foot strain.

It's just as unlikely to envision Lin as a playoff hero in 2016.

It only took a two-year, $4.4 million deal to bring him to Charlotte, his third NBA stop in as many seasons. He landed a handful of Sixth Man of the Year votes with solid-not-spectacular averages of 11.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists. His 13.8 player efficiency rating put him below the league average of 15.0 and on the same plane as the likes of Alexis Ajinca, Seth Curry and Brian Roberts.

But regular-season resumes are thrown out the window at this point. And here's Lin, with an ever-expanding reserve role, carving up the heart of a Miami defense that ranked seventh in efficiency and ninth in field-goal percentage against. ESPN's Justin Verrier highlighted Lin's significant contributions:

The Hornets won't expect—and frankly, don't need—Lin to make this type of difference every night. But you can see the value he brings when efficient and aggressive.

And therefore, you can see the real chance Charlotte has of doing damage. It's already evened things up with Miami, and that's without Batum, who's feverishly working to get back inside the lines. It's happening without the shooters finding their range or Jefferson getting all the way back to full speed. Even Walker has a higher gear than what he's maintained in this series.

The Hornets know they can play with the Heat. They're now an even 4-4 in eight total matchups with Miami this season. And if Charlotte can escape this series, it might like its chances next round, too. The Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors are taking a lot out of each other, and the Hornets played both of them tough during the year.

Little has gone according to plan, and yet, there's still an undeniable buzz in Charlotte. Lin picked the perfect time to rise to the occasion, and something special could happen if the rest of the supporting cast soon does the same.

Statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.

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