<p>‘Linsanity’ slammed into hockey-mad Canada with the force of a winter storm on Tuesday as Jeremy Lin, the National Basketball Association's (NBA) newest sensation, set hearts aflutter with a Valentine's Day visit to the league's most northern outpost. <br /><br /></p>.<p>A game between two losing teams would not normally qualify as a must-see event but Lin, the anonymous benchwarmer turned NBA superstar in a week, made the New York Knicks’ visit to the Toronto Raptors the hottest ticket in town. <br /><br />Part of Lin’s immense appeal is his made-for-Hollywood back story of sleeping on a team-mate's couch one day and living the American dream the next. The ‘Linderella’ story continued at the Air Canada Centre as the Taiwanese American stepped up and coolly dropped a three-pointer from the top of the arc with a half-second to play to stun the Raptors 90-87. <br /><br />That spell-binding piece of magic gave the Knicks their sixth straight victory, with Lin the driving force after starting in the last five games. <br /><br />On a day dedicated to love, Lin's last-minute heroics to cap an occasionally ragged performance gave Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni hope the 23-year-old might be set for a long-term relationship with the NBA, rather than the occasional one-night stand. "He's a tough kid, you don't know that until you go into games with him," D'Antoni told reporters. “He's really tough, mentally he's there. <br /><br />"I have complete faith in him. He was pretty confident that was going in. "He's a marked man now. He isn't going to sneak up on anybody." <br /><br />Lin committed eight turnovers but with the game on the line he was again the Knicks go-to guy, scoring New York's last six points, including his long-range winner to finish with a game-high 27-points with 11 assists. <br /><br />The first Taiwanese-American to play in the NBA, Lin's rise from obscurity to toast of the Big Apple is an extraordinary tale that is hard to resist. <br /><br />The point guard from Harvard, a college better known as a springboard to the US presidency than the NBA, went undrafted and was cut by Golden State and Houston before finding a place at the end of the Knicks bench in December. <br /><br />Given his chance, Lin seized the NBA spotlight with both hands, and has inspired the Knicks with a string of stunning performances. <br /><br />Results: Miami: 105 bt Indiana: 90; NY Knicks: 90 bt Toronto: 87; San Antonio: 99 bt Detroit: 95; Memphis: 93 bt Houston: 83; Chicago: 121 bt Sacramento: 115; Oklahoma City: 111 bt Utah: 85; Denver: 109 bt Phoenix: 92; LA Lakers: 86 bt Atlanta: 78.</p>
<p>‘Linsanity’ slammed into hockey-mad Canada with the force of a winter storm on Tuesday as Jeremy Lin, the National Basketball Association's (NBA) newest sensation, set hearts aflutter with a Valentine's Day visit to the league's most northern outpost. <br /><br /></p>.<p>A game between two losing teams would not normally qualify as a must-see event but Lin, the anonymous benchwarmer turned NBA superstar in a week, made the New York Knicks’ visit to the Toronto Raptors the hottest ticket in town. <br /><br />Part of Lin’s immense appeal is his made-for-Hollywood back story of sleeping on a team-mate's couch one day and living the American dream the next. The ‘Linderella’ story continued at the Air Canada Centre as the Taiwanese American stepped up and coolly dropped a three-pointer from the top of the arc with a half-second to play to stun the Raptors 90-87. <br /><br />That spell-binding piece of magic gave the Knicks their sixth straight victory, with Lin the driving force after starting in the last five games. <br /><br />On a day dedicated to love, Lin's last-minute heroics to cap an occasionally ragged performance gave Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni hope the 23-year-old might be set for a long-term relationship with the NBA, rather than the occasional one-night stand. "He's a tough kid, you don't know that until you go into games with him," D'Antoni told reporters. “He's really tough, mentally he's there. <br /><br />"I have complete faith in him. He was pretty confident that was going in. "He's a marked man now. He isn't going to sneak up on anybody." <br /><br />Lin committed eight turnovers but with the game on the line he was again the Knicks go-to guy, scoring New York's last six points, including his long-range winner to finish with a game-high 27-points with 11 assists. <br /><br />The first Taiwanese-American to play in the NBA, Lin's rise from obscurity to toast of the Big Apple is an extraordinary tale that is hard to resist. <br /><br />The point guard from Harvard, a college better known as a springboard to the US presidency than the NBA, went undrafted and was cut by Golden State and Houston before finding a place at the end of the Knicks bench in December. <br /><br />Given his chance, Lin seized the NBA spotlight with both hands, and has inspired the Knicks with a string of stunning performances. <br /><br />Results: Miami: 105 bt Indiana: 90; NY Knicks: 90 bt Toronto: 87; San Antonio: 99 bt Detroit: 95; Memphis: 93 bt Houston: 83; Chicago: 121 bt Sacramento: 115; Oklahoma City: 111 bt Utah: 85; Denver: 109 bt Phoenix: 92; LA Lakers: 86 bt Atlanta: 78.</p>
