New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers at 7pm ET on TNT | Golden State Warriors vs. San Antonio Spurs vs. at 9:30pm ET on TNT
The most talked about team all year in the NBA has been the New York Knicks. Tonight their backs are against the walls in a must-win game; and luckily for them, they’re on the road to avoid the boo’s throughout the Garden from the faithful. All eyes are on Carmelo Anthony, as he’s the only superstar remaining from the 2003 not to win a NBA championship. The teams most consistent player this series, Iman Shumpert was scheduled to be out of action tonight but will suit up after positive reports on his knee today from evaluations.
*UPDATE*
Pacers Defeat Knicks 93-82, Take 3-1 Series Lead | Spurs Win 109-91, Take 3-2 Series Lead
In the 2nd game scheduled for tonight’s hoops, features surprisingly the San Antonio Spurs in a must-win situation of their own a 2-2 series tie with the Golden State Warriors. The winner of game 5 normally goes on win the series generally, but this series hasn’t seen a clear cut favorite with the Spurs stealing game one and winning game 3 before their Sunday collapse in OT in Oakland. A loss here could put them in a hole heading back to the Bay Area against the league’s loudest crowd.
Check after the jump for more previews of the each game.
Indiana Pacers One Game Away From First Eastern Conference Finals In 9 Years.
In every game, the Pacers have virtually pummeled the New York Knicks with Melo having to bang on defense guarding David West at the 4 then being the primary scorer on the offensive side of things. The Pacers are positioned to set themselves up for an Eastern Conference Finals meeting with the Miami Heat, as they’ve just made the Knicks their personal bitches this entire series.
Carmelo has to be more aggressive tonight taking high percentage shots and incorporating the role players into their offense to make the offense flourish. The Knicks might have to go big as well to give Carmelo some relief on the defensive end by playing at the 3. Tyson Chandler’s also going to have to improve from his poor game 3 with Roy Hibbert dominating the game with 24 points and 12 boards. JR Smith who also scored only 9 points going 4-12 shooting is also “due” like Melo to have a breakout game this series. Sadly #Knickstape faithful, if your team loses, they might be headed to the Hampton’s by Friday.
Golden State Looking To Shock The World, But NOT Themselves.
The Warriors are always finding themselves to have the most exciting series of the NBA Playoffs and have even made the San Antonio Spurs watchable for the casual audience. The Spurs are in a must-win situation tonight to avoid a potential closeout game Thursday night in Oakland. The story of game 4 was the contributions of Jarret Jack and Harrison Barnes who had more points than the team’s two best players Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Both players were heavily guarded with Jack and Barnes stepped up and delivered when it was necessary and much needed down the stretch.
The team dealt with foul trouble the entire game from Andrew Bogun, Car Landry and Festus Ezeli. Mark Jason looked down his bench even played David Lee who got 5 boards and a steal with Andris Biedrins seeing his first minutes of the playoffs. The game even headed to OT where the Spurs would only score 3 points in the entire period which fatigue showed. The Warriors in my opinion aren’t pressured to win game 5 tonight strictly because they have a game 6 at home and have proven themselves to win in San Antonio and dictate the flow of the game. The Spurs are going to have to play all out tonight with Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green having to lead the way.
Last game Manu Ginobili equaled their total out with 21 points off the bench less time on the court which we may see some extended minutes from Manu. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker have been carrying this team all year and are going to need the role players to provide support in the scoring department tonight if they want to advance and face Memphis next round. We expect to the Spurs to do everything in their will tonight to win to avoid any momentum Golden State may get for later in the week.