Lin's amazing story gets an exciting final

Lin's amazing story gets an exciting final:  Already autograph the NBA's best story, Jeremy Lin has now scripted a blood-tingling finish.

Nothing about the kid from Harvard should be a abruptness anymore. If he launched a 3-pointer in a tie bold with a half-second larboard in Toronto on Tuesday night, the aftereffect seemed obvious.

"I knew it was traveling in," Knicks bouncer Iman Shumpert said.

Who would agnosticism it at this point?

Lin's 3-pointer capped his finishing flurry of six beeline credibility to abutting the bold as the Knicks rallied for a 90-87 achievement over the Raptors, extending their acceptable band to six.

Their division sputtering just two weeks ago, afore Lin able the bench, the Knicks (14-15) can get aback to .500 with a achievement over Sacramento on Wednesday.

And with Lin active their show, that's absolutely what they expect.

"He continues to affect every night," New York's Jared Jeffries said. "Every bold he plays better, he does added and added to advice us win basketball games. You can't ask any added of a kid advancing into this situation."

Huge in New York, Linsanity was even bigger in Toronto, whose all-embracing association couldn't delay for a attending at the NBA's aboriginal American-born amateur of Chinese or Taiwanese descent.

A season-high army of 20,092 was alone the Raptors' additional sellout of the season, and some 75 reporters and 16 cameras arranged a Tuesday morning columnist appointment to apprehend Lin speak.

"Are we in the playoffs now?" drillmaster Mike D'Antoni joked as he fabricated his way to the foreground of the room.

Not yet, but they abiding accept a attempt now with Lin.

The ascendant Eastern Appointment amateur of the anniversary denticulate 27 credibility and added a career-high 11 assists, afraid off a awkward aboriginal bisected to backpack the Knicks down the stretch.

Toronto led 87-82 with beneath than two account to go if Shumpert blanket the brawl from Jose Calderon and collection in for an accepted dunk. Afterwards a absent shot, Lin completed a three-point play, attached it at 87 with 1:05 left.

Leandro Barbosa absent a 3 for Toronto and, at the added end, Shumpert absent a jumper but Tyson Chandler affective the rebound. Lin took the brawl abreast midcourt and let the alarm run down to 5 abnormal afore active and affairs up adjoin Calderon to coffin the absolute shot.

"You just watch and you're in awe," D'Antoni said. "He captivated it until five-tenths of a additional left. He was appealing assured that was traveling in, no rebounds, no nothing. That brawl was accepting buried."

Lin, cut by both Golden State and Houston in December, struggled early. He didn't account for the aboriginal eight account of the game, again angry the brawl over on three beeline backing aboriginal in the additional division and Toronto took advantage with a 6-0 run, addition its advance to 13 points.

That was continued abandoned by the end.

"When he hit that attempt it was artlessly amazing, we were adhering at midcourt like we'd won a championship," said Amare Stoudemire, who denticulate 21 credibility afterwards missing four amateur afterward the afterlife of an beforehand brother in a Florida car crash.

Scouts and accepted managers may accept absent Lin if he went undrafted two years ago, but humans all over the NBA are watching him now. The acknowledgment to his champ on Twitter was agnate to one of LeBron James' or Blake Griffin's huge dunks.

"It's crazy!" Phoenix bouncer Steve Nash wrote. "I'm watching Linsanity acquisitive every attempt goes in. Hope I never abound up."

But Lin deflects the acclaim to his teammates, even admitting they were traveling boilerplate until he started accepting absolute account on Feb. 4.

"It's not because of me, it's because we're advancing calm as a team," Lin said. "We started authoritative these accomplish beforehand but we were still accident abutting amateur and so acutely it wasn't fun. But if you win, that solves a lot of problems. We've been acceptable and we've been arena together."