NEW YORK, Feb 13, 2012 (AFP) - Amare Stoudemire returned to the New York Knicks on Monday after missing the past week following the death of his brother, getting his first taste of NBA "Lin-sanity" in a team workout.

In the absence of Stoudemire and injured playmaker Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks have won five games in a row behind the stunning emergence of guard Jeremy Lin, the NBA’s first US-born player of Taiwanese and Chinese ancestry.

Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said Stoudemire will start alongside Lin for the first time on Tuesday when the Knicks (13-15) play at Toronto after missing four games following the death of older brother Hazell in a car crash.

"We should go to another level, no doubt about it," D’Antoni said.

Lin has averaged 26.8 points, 8.0 assists and 4.2 rebounds in the past five games. Lin’s drives to the basket, pin-point passes and electrifying effort have sparked the Knicks in the past week.

But the question hanging over the club is how Lin would function alongside Stoudemire and Anthony, who was sidelined by a groin strain last Monday but is likely to return this week.

"It’s the same thing for me, just try and get on the floor and help my team win," said Lin, who sat out Monday’s practice session to rest his body.

"When we get out there, hopefully we will hit the ground running."

Regardless of what happens the remainder of the season, Lin has had an impact on a Knicks team that was struggling to find itself.

"He has really changed the mind-set and mentality of this team," Knicks big man Tyson Chandler said. "We were really struggling and fighting the offense.

"He’s making the right decisions and because of that, the offense is flowing and it’s giving a lot of guys confidence."

Lin, a Harvard graduate undrafted by NBA clubs, was consigned to the end of the Knicks’ bench after New York took a chance on the guard following his being cut by the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets before the season began.

Now Lin has the most points by any player in his first four starts in more than 30 years and his exploits have prompted such stellar newspaper headlines as "May The Best Man Lin" and "The Mighty Lin".

A "Lin-sanity" banner was even printed atop the front page of Monday’s Wall Street Journal.

The NBA’s top-selling replica jersey in the past 10 days has been that of Lin and he has attracted 130,000 Twitter followers in the past few days as well as boosted online viewings of Knicks games by more than 220 percent.

"This is my dream being lived out and I’m so thankful for that," Lin said.