The NBA Playoffs continued with two more semifinals contests on Thursday. In the east, the New York Knicks stayed alive with a win against the Indiana Pacers. In the west, the San Antonio Spurs eliminated the Golden State Warriors. Here’s a breakdown of both games.
New York closes series gap with 85-75 win over Indiana
The New York Knicks fought off elimination with an 85-75 win over the Indiana Pacers in the Garden on Thursday night. The Knicks won the game behind a 28-point six-rebound effort from Carmelo Anthony.
New York didn’t overwhelm Indiana – rather, they built a lead slowly and steadily. They led by four at the end of the first quarter, built it to six by halftime, and heading into the fourth quarter, extended it to ten. Indiana threatened several times, but never led in the game.
The Pacers couldn’t get much going on a night when they had a chance to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. Indiana scored fewer than 20 points in three of the four quarters and had only 34 at halftime. And Indiana was plagued with not only poor shooting, but also turnovers. The Pacers suffered 19 on the night – nearly twice as many as the Knicks’ ten.
Another key factor was the bench play. Indiana got only ten points from their reserves while the Knicks scored 35, led by 13 each from J.R. Smith and Chris Copeland. Indiana gave 24 minutes to forwards Tyler Hansbrough and Sam Young, but the pair came up scoreless.
The Pacers were led by forwards Paul George and David West, who combined for 40 points and 16 rebounds.
One thing to watch is the continued use of All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire. The forward has played only sparingly off the bench after returning from injury and did so again on Thursday with only seven minutes. New York still has a way to go to come back in this series, but if they’re able to get by the Pacers, Stoudemire will certainly be needed against the Miami Heat. It will be interesting to see how much he’s used should they find a way to advance.
Next up is Game 6 on Saturday in Indiana.
Spurs eliminate Warriors with 94-82 victory
The San Antonio Spurs got past a sluggish start in their series with the Golden State Warriors to finish strong, culminating with a 94-82 Game 6 win.
Golden State’s backcourt of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson didn’t shoot all that well, but still contributed 32 points. The Warriors’ big problem was with their frontcourt. Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli rebounded well, but scored only five points. Even Harrison Barnes, who was averaging nearly 20 points a game in the series, provided only nine.
San Antonio, meanwhile, ran on all cylinders. All five starters scored in double figures led by Tim Duncan’s 19, and Kawhi Leonard added ten rebounds. The Spurs’ bench also produced. They were outscored by the Warriors’ reserves, but had more rebounds and assists. San Antonio got a nice performance out of Manu Ginobili with five points, 11 assists, and six rebounds.
Golden State is surely disappointed with the way things turned out – especially since they nearly won the first two games from San Antonio. But it’s a team with a bright future with a great young nucleus of Curry, Thompson, and Barnes. Once the team gets David Lee healthy, a long playoff run wouldn’t be surprising.
The Spurs will make another trip to the Conference finals with Game 1 against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.
