Lin nails game-winner as Knicks rally past Raptors

By Paul Levine Feb 15, 2012, 8:30 GMT

Los Angeles - Linsanity hit Canada with a bang.

Jeremy Lin knocked down the tie-breaking three-pointer with five tenths of a second remaining to cap a 13-1 closing run Tuesday night, rallying the New York Knicks to a dramatic 90-87 road victory over the Toronto Raptors.

'I'm just glad it went like this so we can calm the Linsanity down a little bit,' Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni joked. 'You just watch him and you're in awe.'

Named the Eastern Conference player of the week, Lin had 27 points with 11 assists for the Knicks, who received 21 points and nine rebounds from Amar'e Stoudemire after missing the last four games to mourn the death of his older brother.

The Knicks have won six straight games and are 5-0 since Lin, an undrafted, unheralded point guard from Harvard, was inserted into the regular rotation after being buried on the bench.

'It's the greatest story in sports right now,' teammate Jared Jeffries said. 'Every game he comes out and plays better. You can't ask for anymore of a kid coming into this situation. He's the catalyst for a team that is playing as good as anyone in the NBA.'

Lin, 23, remained humble, saying: 'It's not because of me.It's because we're coming together as a team, right now.'

The Knicks trailed by 17 in the opening half and by a dozen early in the fourth quarter before Lin and Stoudemire fueled a 10-0 run to pull them within two at 78-76.

The Raptors responded with an 8-1 burst to open up an 86-77 advantage. The Knicks stiffened their defence down the stretch and Lin's three-point play capped a 10-1 surge, levelling the contest at 87-87 with 65 seconds left.

Tyson Chandler then grabbed a rebound 10 seconds from the end to set up Lin's last-second heroics.

With D'Antoni choosing not to call a timeout, Lin dribbled to the top of the key and coolly swished in the difference-maker, setting off a frenzy from the many Asians fans among the sellout crowd of 20,092 at the Air Canada Center, who witnessed the NBA's first American-Taiwanese player deliver another mind-boggling performance.

'There's not much to say, because he's done about everything else except to hit the game-winner and there it was,' teammate Landry Fields said. 'This is his moment right now. It's incredible, I'm speechless.'

The Raptors had a final shot to force overtime but Rasual Butler's three-point attempt failed to draw iron at the buzzer.

Spaniard Jose Calderon topped Toronto with 25 points and nine assists but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter. Linas Kleiza finished with 15 points and 11 boards for the Raptors, who have dropped five of their last six games.

Elsewhere:

Miami Heat 105, Indiana Pacers 90: LeBron James scored 23 points, Norris Cole added 20 and the Heat blew past the Pacers for their third road win in as many days.

Oklahoma City Thunder 111, Utah Jazz 85: James Harden scored 22 points and Kevin Durant hadd 21 as the Thunder drummed the Jazz for their eighth straight home victory.

San Antonio Spurs 99, Detroit Pistons 95: Tim Duncan had 18 points and 13 rebounds, Frenchman Tony Parker hit the go-ahead layup with just over a minute left to lift the visiting Spurs to an eighth consecutive victory.

Chicago Bulls 121, Sacramento Kings 115: Luol Deng had 23 points with a career-high 11 assists, Joakim Noah added 22 points and 11 boards as the Bulls, without All-Star Derrick Rose (sore back), edged the visiting Kings after nearly blowing a 19-point fourth-quarter cushion. With the win, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau will guide the Eastern Conference in the February 26 All-Star game in Orlando. DeMarcus Cousins led Sacramento with 28 points and 17 rebounds.

LA Lakers 86, Atlanta Hawks 78: Spaniard Pau Gasol had 20 points with 13 rebounds, Andrew Bynum added 15 points and 15 boards as the Lakers caged the visiting Hawks at Staples Center for the 19th time in the last 22 games.

Denver Nuggets 109, Phoenix Suns 92: Arron Afflalo scored 20 points, Ty Lawson had 17 and the Nuggets snapped a five-game home skid after routing the short-handed Suns, who rested starters Steve Nash and Grant Hill.

Memphis Grizzlies 93, Houston Rockets 83: Mike Conley scored seven of his 21 points in the final two-and-a-half minutes as the Grizzlies held off the visiting Rockets.

Washington Wizards 124, Portland Trail Blazers 109: Nick Young drained seven triples en route to a season-best 35 points, John Wall added 29 points, and the Wizards won just their third road game after stunning the Trail Blazers, who lost All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge to an ankle injury early in the game.