Knicks, Pacers Set To Collide In Game 7
The New York Knicks will host the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The series is tied 3-3.
The Knicks failed to close the series out on the road, losing badly to the Pacers in Game 6 on Friday, and now they’ll have their backs against the wall in a decisive Game 7. Expect Madison Square Garden to be rocking Sunday, as the Knicks are 48 minutes away from facing one of their biggest rivals, the Boston Celtics, for a berth in the 2024 NBA Finals. However, it won’t be easy for New York, as Indiana’s above-average pace and offense have created more problems than expected. The Knicks could have a massive boost on the defensive end for Game 7, though, as OG Anunoby has a chance to be available for the series decider. The veteran forward will be a game-time call for Sunday, and his return could be what New York needs to get past Indiana: that and Jalen Brunson, of course. The star point guard is averaging 31.8 points, 5.7 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game in the series.
OG Anunoby (hamstring) is questionable for Sunday, same as Josh Hart (abdomen). Bogdan Bogdanovic (foot), Mitchell Robinson (ankle) and Julius Randle (shoulder) are all out for the season.
The Pacers have proven their fighting spirit throughout the season and the playoffs, and their win in Friday’s Game 6 was no different. Led by the play of their big men duo of Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner, the Pacers raced to a comfortable victory by a 116-103 margin that wasn’t bigger due to the Knicks scoring points in garbage time. Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 25 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals in the win. Meanwhile, Myles Turner (17 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks) and Tyrese Haliburton (15 points, six rebounds, nine assists) also delivered impressive outings. The Pacers do not have a lot of bench scoring outside of T.J. McConnell, so their star trio will be what will carry them to a potential berth in the Eastern Conference. After all, that’s what carried them past the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round as well.
The Pacers have Bennedict Mathurin (shoulder) out for the rest of the season.
The Knicks failed to close the series out on the road, losing badly to the Pacers in Game 6 on Friday, and now they’ll have their backs against the wall in a decisive Game 7. Expect Madison Square Garden to be rocking Sunday, as the Knicks are 48 minutes away from facing one of their biggest rivals, the Boston Celtics, for a berth in the 2024 NBA Finals. However, it won’t be easy for New York, as Indiana’s above-average pace and offense have created more problems than expected. The Knicks could have a massive boost on the defensive end for Game 7, though, as OG Anunoby has a chance to be available for the series decider. The veteran forward will be a game-time call for Sunday, and his return could be what New York needs to get past Indiana: that and Jalen Brunson, of course. The star point guard is averaging 31.8 points, 5.7 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game in the series.
OG Anunoby (hamstring) is questionable for Sunday, same as Josh Hart (abdomen). Bogdan Bogdanovic (foot), Mitchell Robinson (ankle) and Julius Randle (shoulder) are all out for the season.
The Pacers have proven their fighting spirit throughout the season and the playoffs, and their win in Friday’s Game 6 was no different. Led by the play of their big men duo of Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner, the Pacers raced to a comfortable victory by a 116-103 margin that wasn’t bigger due to the Knicks scoring points in garbage time. Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 25 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals in the win. Meanwhile, Myles Turner (17 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks) and Tyrese Haliburton (15 points, six rebounds, nine assists) also delivered impressive outings. The Pacers do not have a lot of bench scoring outside of T.J. McConnell, so their star trio will be what will carry them to a potential berth in the Eastern Conference. After all, that’s what carried them past the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round as well.
The Pacers have Bennedict Mathurin (shoulder) out for the rest of the season.
Nuggets Host T'Wolves in Game 7
The Denver Nuggets play host to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals at Ball Arena on Sunday.
This series is tied 3-3. The winner will face the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals beginning later next week. Whoever wins will have homecourt advantage in that series.
The Timberwolves (3-3) looked to be in trouble once they lost three straight games in the guts of this series, but their Game 6 blowout victory was their best performance of the season. Minnesota led by 50 points in that elimination game, winning 115-70. Seeing a team held to 70 points tells you everything you need to know, with the Timberwolves holding the Nuggets to 30 percent from the field and 19 percent from three-point range. That's what fans wanted to see from the best defense in the NBA, and now they are only one win away from a Western Conference Finals appearance. They already showed they can win in Denver when they took down the first two games of this series and it'll be interesting to see how they perform here.
The Nuggets (3-3) had one of their worst performances in franchise history in that Game 6 closeout game. It's rare to see a champion score just 70 points in such a critical game, especially since they lost by 26 points in this series just a week ago. That makes this Denver team completely unpredictable right now because they were dominant in their three-game winning streak in this series. That makes this final game almost impossible to predict because the Nuggets were horrid in their first two home games. Scoring 70 points is on everyone, but the bench was especially bad. They didn't score until garbage time in that blowout defeat, combining to shoot 4-of-27 from the field. It's not like Michael Porter Jr or Jamal Murray helped, combining to shoot 7-of-27. We expect a better performance, but it'll be difficult to brush off such an ugly showing.
This series is tied 3-3. The winner will face the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals beginning later next week. Whoever wins will have homecourt advantage in that series.
The Timberwolves (3-3) looked to be in trouble once they lost three straight games in the guts of this series, but their Game 6 blowout victory was their best performance of the season. Minnesota led by 50 points in that elimination game, winning 115-70. Seeing a team held to 70 points tells you everything you need to know, with the Timberwolves holding the Nuggets to 30 percent from the field and 19 percent from three-point range. That's what fans wanted to see from the best defense in the NBA, and now they are only one win away from a Western Conference Finals appearance. They already showed they can win in Denver when they took down the first two games of this series and it'll be interesting to see how they perform here.
The Nuggets (3-3) had one of their worst performances in franchise history in that Game 6 closeout game. It's rare to see a champion score just 70 points in such a critical game, especially since they lost by 26 points in this series just a week ago. That makes this Denver team completely unpredictable right now because they were dominant in their three-game winning streak in this series. That makes this final game almost impossible to predict because the Nuggets were horrid in their first two home games. Scoring 70 points is on everyone, but the bench was especially bad. They didn't score until garbage time in that blowout defeat, combining to shoot 4-of-27 from the field. It's not like Michael Porter Jr or Jamal Murray helped, combining to shoot 7-of-27. We expect a better performance, but it'll be difficult to brush off such an ugly showing.