The New York Knicks knew they needed a win on Thursday night to stay alive and while playing in front of their home fans they delivered in great fashion, as the team took down the Pacers 85-75 in front of a loud crowd at MSG.
Carmelo Anthony led the way once again with 28 points, while Tyson Chandler had eight rebounds and Rayomomnd Felton had eight asisst for the Knicks to stay alive. The team looked like it was a lock to face the Heat after going up 3-0 on the Boston Celtics in the first round, but after dropping two straight games the Knicks have not looked the same and now they are alive at 3-2 against the Pacers.
Indiana is deep and defensively amazing and on Thursday they got 23 points out of Paul George and 10 rebounds out of David West, as George added six assists. The Knicks outscored or tied the Pacers in each quarter and the team used Roy Hibbert's foul trouble to attack the paint and now there is a possibility the Knicks can force a Game 7 against Indiana at hoem with a win on Saturday on the road.
The Knicks have gone 31-10 at home this season so they will be favored if they can make it to a Game 7, but they still must win again on the road, where they are 23-18 on the year, while the Pacers are 30-11 at home, about the same as the Knicks. Anthony has done all he can while playing in the playoffs and averaging nearly 30 points per game, but some night it isn't enough, as the Knicks age is starting to show a bit.
The Knicks got solid production out of their bench with 13 points from both JR Smith and Chris Copeland and the team will need that production again to win the series, as only eight other teams have been able to come back with that deficit looking them in the face. Paul George was solid with 23 points, six rebounds and six assists, but the Pacers had over 15 turnovers and the Knicks were able to capitalize.
The Heat are already through and they will gain more days of rest as the series plays out and on the West side of the playoffs the Memphis Grizzlies and the San Antonio Spurs are through to the Western finals after the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Golden State Warriors were eliminated. The Spurs have been playing well with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker and the team has the same look it did back when they won championships in the mid-2000's. Duncan is playing like he is much younger, while Manu Ginobili has been playing good as well.
The Knicks and Pacers Game 6 is on Saturday night and is the last game left in the second round of the NBA playoffs.
