What was a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 for the New York Knicks against the Boston Celtics in the 2013 NBA Playoffs has turned into one of the most intriguing match-ups his postseason. The Celtics have won two elimination games in a row, including one on the road, and now return home for a chance to force a decisive Game 7.
Boston as a city is no stranger to defying the odds and coming back from an 0-3 hole to win a playoff series. The Red Sox achieved the rare feat against the New York Yankees back in 2004 and these Celtics have won half the games they need to win in order to duplicate that result.
Looking back through NBA history, only three teams down 0-3 have come back to force a Game 7 and all dropped that final game. Ironically one of those teams was the New York Knicks way back in 1951. The most recent example is the Portland Trailblazers who lost to Dallas in Game 7 in 2003.
In Game 5, the Celtics were playing in New York and left it all out on the floor to come away with a 92-86 victory. The Knicks had worn all black to the game as a way to smack talk the Celtics as if they were attending their opponent’s funeral and playoff-ending loss. Instead the Celtics lived to see another day and fear is starting to creep into the Knicks locker room.
The big story out of Game 5 was the lack of shooting accuracy from Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith, the latter of whom was suspended for Game 4. Anthony shot only 8 for 24 from the field and missed all five of his three-point attempts. Smith was even worse at 3 for 14, and all three of his makes were from behind the mark. If the Knicks have any hope of wrapping the series in Boston and avoiding an elimination Game 7 then those two scorers must get on track.
Tonight’s NBA 2013 Round 1 Playoff Game 6 between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks tips off at 7/6c on in high definition on ESPN. Cable and satellite subscribers with ESPN inclusive can watch a free online live streaming version of what should be a highly entertaining Game 6 here on ESPN3. This can be watched on your iPad, mobile phone, laptop or other Internet connected device. For my prediction I am going to stick with the underdog and call for the Celtics to force Game 7 with an improbable 90-84 win at home.
