Knicks at Raptors
THE STORY: Earlier in the season, the prospect of playing without
Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire would have scared New York Knicks
fans stiff. That was before Linsanity enveloped Gotham like few
phenomena before it. Point guard Jeremy Lin has helped the Knicks
overcome the absences of Anthony and Stoudemire, and the unheralded
Harvard graduate will finally get one of them back as he leads New York
into a Tuesday showdown with the host Toronto Raptors. Stoudemire will
return to the lineup after missing a week following the death of his
brother.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG (Knicks), TSN (Raptors)
ABOUT THE KNICKS (13-15): New York has rattled off five
straight victories since giving Lin heavy minutes, and the return of
Stoudemire to the low block should serve as a great complement to Lin's
cutting and slashing style. Lin wasn't at his best the last time out -
shooting 1 for 13 with four turnovers in a dreadful second half - but it
was his free throw with 4.9 seconds left that propelled New York past
the host Minnesota Timberwolves 100-98 on Saturday.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (9-20): Toronto is coming off a hard-fought -
and bizarre - two-point loss to the visiting Los Angeles Lakers over the
weekend. The Raptors thought they had called timeout on an inbound play
with 3.6 seconds left, but referees ruled that Rasual Butler didn't
make the call in time. That spoiled a strong effort by Toronto, which
led by five points late in the fourth quarter before Kobe Bryant hit
three tough shots to salvage the Lakers victory.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Toronto's 90-85 victory over the Knicks on Jan. 2 ended New York's four-game winning streak in the head-to-head series.
2. Lin is averaging 26.8 points and eight assists in his last five games.
3. Both teams are only 1-6 when they allow opponents to score more than 100 points.