NBA Playoffs schedule 2013: Knicks, Warriors facing elimination on Thursday - SB Nation

The New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors are up against the wall on Thursday night as the 2013 NBA Playoff action continues to heat up.

The tension is rising in the 2013 NBA Playoffs. Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks face a do-or-die Game 5 situation on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden against the Indiana Pacers. Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors can't afford to stumble in their Game 6 matchup versus the San Antonio Spurs. The Miami Heat and Memphis Grizzlies both advanced to the Conference Finals on Wednesday night, so the final four could potentially be set by the end of the evening. Here's a look at the TV schedule and tip times for Thursday.

Pacers vs. Knicks, Game 5 (8 p.m. ET, TNT) | Indiana leads series, 3-1

Knicks head coach Mike Woodson has started to tinker with the lineup, and after a poor showing in Game 4 there is a strange atmosphere surrounding the team in New York. Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith have struggled in the series, but it's not like the Pacers are unbeatable. Ian Levy of Pacers blog Indy Cornrows provided an excellent breakdown of Indiana's offensive deficiencies and weaknesses earlier in the week.

For more on this series, visit: Posting and Toasting Indy Cornrows

At Knicks blog Posting and Toasting, they aren't impressed with Woodson's decision making during this series:

Let's break down Mike Woodson's strategy in the series thus far. He went with the regular lineup for the first two games of the series. The Knicks scored 95 and 105 points, respectively, for an average of 100.0 points a game, which is exactly their regular season average. Their averaged 109.6 points per 100 possessions - a scant 1.5 points below their regular season average, and nearly 10 points more than Pacers opponents averaged during the regular season. After a thorough beat-down in Game 3, Woodson decided to throw the script out the window and improvised a new starting lineup, one that had yet to start a game this season.

The idea was terrible on a number of levels.

If the Knicks managed to pull out a win on Thursday, Game 6 would be on Saturday night in Indiana.

Spurs vs. Warriors, Game 6 (10:30 p.m., ESPN) | San Antonio leads series, 3-2

The Warriors and Spurs have alternated wins in this series, and if the pattern holds it means Golden State is due to emerge victorious in Game 6. Things won't be that simple, but Stephen Curry and the Warriors have to like the fact that they will be back at home with the ORACLE Arena crowd for the must-win contest.

For more on this series, visit: Golden State of Mind Pounding the Rock

The game preview at Warriors blog Golden State of Mind has taken the form of an emotional pep talk (a non-ironic ode to Mark Jackson, perhaps?), while the Spurs-centric preview at Pounding the Rock focuses on how the team can get back to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2007-08.

If the Warriors win Game 6, the winner-take-all Game 7 will be played on Sunday afternoon in San Antonio.

More from SB Nation:

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'� Flannery: The Pacers are happening

'� Spurs win easy vs. Warriors

'� Ziller: Don't blame Kevin Durant

'� Dan on Fire: Did Kobe fake his injury?

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SA Spurs vs. Golden State Warriors: Game 4 Score, Highlights and Analysis - Bleacher Report

The first Game 4 of the second round of the 2013 NBA playoffs did not disappoint. The Golden State Warriors righted the ship and evened the series at 2-2, courtesy of a 97-87 overtime win against the San Antonio Spurs.

Trailing for much of the game'�and most of the fourth quarter'�the Warriors closed on an 8-2 run to force overtime. Jarrett Jack and Klay Thompson netted four points each during the stretch.

San Antonio Spurs' overtime shot chart. Courtesy of ESPN.com

After Jack bricked a possible game-winner at the buzzer, he made sure to open the flood gates of the overtime period. His jumper on the opening possession kicked off a 9-0 run that put the game out of San Antonio's reach.

Due to an ankle injury, Stephen Curry was questionable to play a ton of minutes in Game 4. He was bounced on and off the floor by Mark Jackson, protecting him from further pain. Even on that ankle Curry was solid, going for 22 points, including five threes. His three-point play capped that deciding run, and his assist on Carl Landry's jumper iced the game with one minute, eight seconds left.�

Curry then went to the bench to sit and smile with teammate David Lee.�

Harrison Barnes was the high man for Golden State, going for a whopping 26 points and 10 rebounds. He tallied four big points in overtime.

With Curry in and out of the lineup, Barnes and Jack heard their numbers called a lot more often. Jack finished with 24 points off the bench, on 9-of-16 shooting.

San Antonio fought hard. Unfortunately, the whole team appeared to run out of gas for the overtime period.

Tim Duncan had 19 points and 15 rebounds, while Manu Ginobili tossed in five threes and 21 points off the bench.

The first half resembled a blowout by San Antonio, but Golden State remained competitive. Thanks to 12 bench points from Jack, the Warriors stayed within eight at the half, 45-37.

Curry played only 15 minutes in the first half, hitting two of three shots, all threes. He doled out a pair of assists but was unable to get the ball in good position due to his injury.

Thompson and Curry kicked off the second half by rattling home three treys in the opening minutes. Curry scored eight straight Golden State points, getting his team right back in the game.

Landry's power layup with 6:20 remaining, plus the free throw, gave the Warriors their first lead since the first quarter, 52-51.

Late in the third quarter, the Spurs opted to start fouling Andrew Bogut. Sending the Warriors' big man to the line has worked well this series, as he entered just 5-of-14 from the line. Even though his offense sputtered throughout, Bogut had a huge impact defending the paint. He grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds.

Ginobili's first bucket of the quarter gave the Spurs back a two-point lead entering the final quarter. His 16th point of the game pushed the score to 62-60.

Lee is a great competitor, fighting through pain to return in just three weeks from a serious hip injury. However, he was a liability on the floor. He was too slow laterally to be of any help on defense, and the team never looked for him on offense. Having played eight minutes, he put up a minus-12 mark.

The Warriors were 1-of-6 over the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, letting the Spurs gain a small separation.

Barnes didn't have a great statistical game, hitting just 9-of-26, but the Warriors showed supreme confidence in their rookie. He scored their first seven points of the fourth quarter, keeping his team within striking distance of a couple Curry threes.

The Warriors continued giving Ginobili space on the defensive end. That burned them repeatedly, as the Spurs' sixth man bucketed his fifth three of the game in the middle of the quarter, piling onto the San Antonio lead.

The Warriors' own sixth man, Jack, went into quality ball-hog mode. He got himself three straight good looks, hitting all three jumpers unassisted. Eventually,�Jack hit another jumper from the free-throw line to knot things up at 82.

Tony Parker, hurting himself, went right back at Golden State, though. A bucket of his own put the Spurs back on top with 39 seconds left.

For much of the game, Thompson couldn't find the bottom of the net. He recalibrated in time, though, hitting two big shots in the closing minutes. His layup with 30 seconds left tied the game at 84.

A loose ball appeared to touch Bogut while he was out of bounds, but there was no replay. Jack missed the buzzer-beater anyway, sending things to overtime.

Including free throws, the Spurs started overtime by missing their first nine shots. Jack hit a jumper and Barnes sank a pair of freebies, pushing the Warriors ahead, 88-84, with 2:40 left.

Curry looked fine physically, as he raced by Duncan for a layup and the foul. Curry's three-point play put the Warriors up nine inside of two minutes.

The Warriors out-scored the Spurs 13-3 in overtime. It was clear which team had the younger legs and home crowd behind them.

With the series now tied at 2-2, the pressure goes back onto the Spurs to win at home in San Antonio Tuesday night.

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