The exchange rate in Canada on Linsanity is apparently the same as in New York.
The legend of Jeremy Lin continued last night as he hit a 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 0.5 seconds left on the clock to give the Knicks the win.
Lin scored the final six points of the game to earn the 90-87 victory — the Knicks’ sixth straight.
Lin finished with 27 points and 11 assists, while Stoudemire had 21 and nine rebounds in his first game back since the death of his brother Hazell last Monday. He played 34 minutes in his return.
Moments before the eventual game-winning 3-pointer, Lin drove to the basket for a bucket and the foul. He made the free throw to tie the game at 87 with just over a minute left.
Toronto’s Leandro Barbosa missed a 3-pointer from the right side with 44.9 seconds left and the Knicks’ Iman Shumpert came up with the rebound.
Tyson Chandler struggled much of the night, but he came up with the crucial offensive rebound off a Shumpert miss with 21.8 seconds left. The shot clock reset and the Knicks set up for what would be Lin’s game-winner.
The return of Stoudemire to the Knicks’ lineup didn’t get off to the start many had hoped for.
They got off to an ugly start, allowing the Raptors to jump out to a 28-21 lead after the first quarter on the back of Jose Calderon’s 12 points. They further stretched their lead over the second quarter, pushing it to as much as 17 points at 47-30. But the Knicks chipped away, going on a 6-0 run — started by a Lin 3-pointer — to end the first half.
Lin had 15 points and 10 assists through three quarters, before exploding in the final quarter for 12. He played a game-high 43 minutes.
Chandler finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, while Landry Fields had eight points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
The team struggled trying to incorporate the returning Stoudemire early. He was just 2-of-9 in the first half with eight points.
The Knicks got just 13 bench points in the game, eight from Shumpert, while the Raptors had 32. Linas Kleiza had 15 of those, while Barbosa added 13.
Follow New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports.
