Lin helps Knicks win fifth in a row

Amare Stoudemire scored 21 points and Jeremy Lin added 18 to power the New York Knicks to their fifth victory in a row, defeating hosts Philadelphia 82-79 in an NBA matchup. The Knicks have not lost since Mike Woodson took over as coach, replacing Mike D'Antoni, who resigned after disagreeing with ownership and players over the direction the team should take. Lin, the Asian-American sensation, came off the bench last month to spark New York to seven victories in a row and now the Knicks are catching fire once again as the push to the playoffs begins. At 23-24, the Knicks are eighth in the Eastern Conference. And by beating the 76ers, 26-21, they pulled within three games of Atlantic division leader Philadelphia in the standings. Jrue Holiday scored 16 points to lead Philadelphia. At Orlando, Dwight Howard scored 28 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to power the host Magic over the Phoenix Suns 103-93. Ryan Anderson scored a game-high 29 points for Orlando. In Toronto, the NBA-leading Chicago Bulls had 17 points and 10 rebounds from Britain's Luol Deng to take the visitors past the Raptors 94-82. Chicago rose to an NBA-best 39-10 with a third consecutive triumph. Western Conference leader Oklahoma City trounced the visiting Los Angeles Clippers 114-91, with Kevin Durant scoring a game-high 32 points and Russell Westbrook adding 19 points. Durant also led the Thunder with nine rebounds and five assists as Oklahoma City improved to 35-12.