NBA: Knicks force game six versus Hill-less Pacers

The New York Knicks took advantage of an injury to Indiana Pacers starting point guard George Hill, to carve out an 85-75 victory, Thursday (Friday, PHL time) at Madison Square Garden, to push their Eastern Conference semifinals series to a game six, as they now trail 3-2.

The Pacers and the Knicks split games one (102-95, Pacers win) and two (105-79, Knicks win) in New York, but the lower-seeded Indiana won both games at home (82-71, 93-82), putting them a game away from a Conference Finals match-up against the Miami Heat.

New York began on a 7-0 tear, but had to settle for a 19-15 edge at the end of the first period, with both teams shooting under 31 percent from the field.

The Knicks' bench mob of Amar'e Stoudemire, Chris Copeland and JR Smith continued to keep the home team ahead in the second, with a Copeland trey making it 32-23, their biggest lead up to that point.

Near the tail-end of the first half, a Carmelo Anthony jumper put the Knicks back up by five, 38-33, but a poor foul by Tyson Chandler, his third in fact, sent Lance Stephenson to the line with 2.4 seconds left, with the shooting guard earning a split.

On the other end though, Sam Young one-upped Chandler's mistake, giving JR Smith three charities with 0.9 seconds left. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year made 2-of-3 to put the score at 40-34 entering halftime.

The Knicks shot 4-of-8 from downtown, 37.5 percent overall, while holding the Pacers to just a 29.3 clip at the break. A 16-7 difference in free throw attempts kept Indiana in th game though, as well as a 14-3 edge in second-chance points.

The home team earned a double-digit lead for the first time at the 4:23 mark of the third period, courtesy of a Copeland lay-up, 59-48. Despite scores from David West and Paul George, who combined for 17 of their side's 23 in the quarter, two mid-range connections by Carmelo Anthony kept the lead at 10, with only 12 minutes left in the game, 67-57.

An 11-6 run by the visiting side allowed Indiana to threaten at 73-68, following a split at the line by Paul George, 7:23 remaining. Raymond Felton found Tyson Chandler for a dunk, but George came back down on the other end of the court and hit a trey, to make it a four-point difference, 75-71.

Six straight from the Knicks restored their double-digit lead, 81-71 with 4:40 still to play. The Pacers had their chances, after DJ Augustin free throws made it 83-75 with 2:22 left, but three straight turnovers doomed their chances, and Indian was forced to foul with 33 seconds left. JR Smith then put the game away at the line with two charities, to arrive at the final tally.

Carmelo Anthony finished with 28 points on 28 field goal attempts, also adding six rebounds and a steal. JR Smith and Chris Copeland came off the bench and provided 13 points apiece, with 12 of those 26 markers coming from downtown.

Point guard Raymond Felton also had 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals, versus no turnovers.

[Related: Pacers' Hill to miss playoff game versus New York with concussion]

Felton's point guard counterpart, George Hill, was out with a concussion, following a collision with Tyson Chandler in game four.

Without him, Indiana turned to Paul George to run their offense, and the All-Star forward responded with a team-high six assists, in addition to 23 points and six rebounds. David West added a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Roy Hibbert was hobbled with five fouls, producing only nine points, seven boards and two swats.

New York shot 41.0 percent from the field, and held their foes to just a 36.2 percent clip. Indiana only marginally out-rebounded their foes this time, 43-40, 12-10 on the offensive glass, but they definitely missed Hill, turning the ball over 19 times. - AMD, GMA News