14 FEB 2012 - The clock was running down — on the game, on the Knicks and on a mystical streak that was teetering on the edge of disappointment. The seconds kept disappearing until Jeremy Lin stopped his dribble, pulled up and launched another miracle.

The 3-point shot swished with a half-second remaining Tuesday night, lifting the Knicks to a 90-87 victory over the Toronto Raptors and setting off pandemonium at Air Canada Centre, where fans momentarily adopted the N.B.A.'s newest star as their own. Some 20,000 Canadians had just witnessed a growing legend.

The shot completed a furious comeback from a 17-point deficit and extended the Knicks' Lin-inspired winning streak to six, with no sign of abating.

"I'm just glad it went like this, so we could calm the 'Linsanity' down a little bit," Coach Mike D'Antoni said.

There is little chance of that happening. Lin scored 27 points — his sixth straight game with at least 20 — and handed out 11 assists. He forced some shots, committed 8 turnovers and struggled to contain Jose Calderon (25 points).

Yet the game ended as so many have since Lin became the Knicks' unlikely star: with giddy celebration.

"It's pretty amazing what he's doing, man," said Amar'e Stoudemire, who rejoined the team after a weeklong sabbatical following his brother's death. "I can't really explain it."

Of all the thrilling moments Lin has had since becoming the Knicks' point guard 11 days ago, this might have been the most unlikely. The Knicks (14-15) did not have a lead in the final three quarters and trailed by 12 early in the fourth.

Tyson Chandler battled foul trouble all night. Stoudemire battled fatigue and rust, going 8 for 22 from the field. Lin missed four free throws in the fourth quarter. Calderon and Leandro Barbosa (13 points) kept whizzing through the Knicks' defense.

The Raptors (9-21) rarely let Lin get to the basket without a bump, a bang or a bruise. He spent a considerable amount of time on his back. But he never stopped attacking, and the Knicks found their defensive conscience just in time.

Iman Shumpert shut down Calderon in the fourth quarter, holding him scoreless. The Knicks held Toronto to 12 points in the period. Chandler blocked shots by Barbosa and DeMar DeRozan, and pulled down three offensive rebounds — the last two leading directly to the Knicks' winning points.

Lin drove in for a layup and a 3-point play to tie the score, 87-87, with 1 minute 5 seconds left. On the Knicks' final possession, Shumpert missed a bank shot, but Chandler got the rebound and tossed it to Lin on the perimeter with about 10 seconds left.

D'Antoni chose not to call a timeout, showing an unyielding faith in a point guard who just two weeks ago was not even in the rotation.

"He's too good to even call a timeout," D'Antoni said, adding, "That makes it easy for a coach that's able just to trust the point guard."

Lin glanced back briefly, to make sure D'Antoni was O.K. with an isolation play. He then called off the pick and lined up Calderon in front of him, dribbling as the seconds elapsed. Calderon, perhaps not respecting Lin's range, gave him the space. Lin — who was just 3 for 18 from behind the arc this season — fired away.

"I understand my percentage is low, and that's obviously a criticism people have of me," Lin said. "I'm thankful that my coach and my teammates trust me with the ball at the end of the game."

Rasual Butler missed a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the crowd again erupted for Lin, who said he "actually didn't even register that."

This was billed as Asian Heritage Night, but the crowd did not seem to know what to do with Lin. There were cheers during pregame introductions, periodic boos when he had the ball, then cheers again when he scored.

There was plenty of love in a series of holiday-themed signs like, "Jeremy Lin, Will You Be My vaLINtine?" Another hailed "The Asian Linsation." The greatest tribute came on the newsstands, where Sports Illustrated featured Lin on its cover, under the headline "Against All Odds."

Stoudemire was just happy to be part of the fun after a week spent mourning his older brother, Hazell, who was killed in a car accident. Stoudemire returned with a new tattoo, a single teardrop on his right cheekbone.

"Forever crying inside," Stoudemire explained, choking up. "It's just hard to explain how close me and my brother was. He was more like a father figure, more like a mentor and a brother. He's the reason I play basketball now. He's the reason why I made it to where I am now. A big part of my success."

After Lin's final shot ripped through the net, Stoudemire and Chandler just stared at each other in happy disbelief.

"Then we started hugging each other and just dancing at halfcourt, as if we won a championship," Stoudemire said. "I was simply amazed by, and still somewhat amazed, by the way he's playing."