Playoff action continues in the NBA with three games on TSN Tuesday evening, including a pair of teams looking to advance to the next round.
The drama begins with Game 5 of the series between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics at 7p.m. ET / 4p.m. PT, then the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks tip off at 8p.m. ET / 5p.m. PT, followed by the Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs going head to head at 9:30p.m. ET / 6:30p.m. PT.
You can watch all of the action LIVE, with the Celtics and 76ers matching up on TSN4, TSN.ca and the TSN App. The Hawks and Knicks face off on TSN5, TSN.ca and the TSN App, while the Trail Blazers and Spurs can be viewed on TSN4, TSN.ca and the TSN App. Click here for the full broadcast schedule.
Celtics try to advance in Game 5
This series has taken a few unexpected turns, with the Celtics leading 3-1 after the first four games. Philadelphia took home a surprising victory in Boston in Game 2, giving some hope to the No. 7 seed - especially with the impending return of star centre Joel Embiid from an appendectomy earlier in April.
The Celtics showed how dangerous they can be in rattling off back-to-back wins in Games 3 and 4 though - even with Embiid back for the latter matchup, where he scored 26 points and led all players with 10 rebounds.
“You probably go through a couple of days where you feel bad for yourself,” Embiid said late Sunday. “Then it’s right back to it. Are you going to give up or are you going to try and come back as early as possible?”
His quick return just 17 days removed from an appendectomy that was admirable, but the 76ers still took their second 32-point defeat of the series and are now hanging by a thread as the series shifts back to Boston.
“I think those [losses] are going to kind of happen a couple of times a year,” 76ers head coach Nick Nurse said after Sunday’s game. “Listen, our kind of MO all year was to have a lot of things thrown at us, pick ourselves up and fight back. We’re just going to have to do it again.”
The Celtics’ one-two punch of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have combined to average over 50 points per game in the series, but 32 points from Payton Pritchard off the bench was the catalyst in the blowout victory in Game 4.
Hawks, Knicks clash in pivotal Game 5
The third-seeded Knicks are looking to build upon last year’s Eastern Conference Finals appearance, but have run into a difficult opponent to start in the Hawks. With the series tied 2-2, the winner of Game 5 in New York can take control of the series.
The Hawks used a torrid 19-6 streak after the All-Star break to surge from the outskirts of the Play-In tournament to the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. That hot streak has continued into the playoffs, helping Atlanta claim back-to-back one-point victories in Games 2 and 3 to take an unexpected lead in the series against New York.
The Knicks bounced back in Game 4 with a 114-98 victory, bolstered by Karl-Anthony Towns’ triple-double and OG Anunoby’s game-leading 22 points.
“To see my teammates being special and to be able to get them involved is something I truly enjoy even more than hitting a shot,” Towns said after Game 4. “To see people like OG [Anunoby] consistently making the right read, cut, back door, whatever the case may be against the defense, and doing something special, it brings me joy.”
“He’s a special talent, you know, he can do it all,” Anunoby added. “I know if he’ll get open, he’ll find me. No matter how tight the window is, he’ll be able to find me. It’s amazing playing with a player like him.”
The Knicks will need more of the same from Towns if they hope to take a commanding 3-2 series lead on home court in Game 5.
Wembanyama, Spurs look to book spot in second round
The second-seeded Spurs can finish off the underdog Trail Blazers in Game 5 on home court at Frost Bank Arena.
Portland took home an upset victory in Game 2 behind 31 points from Scoot Henderson, but the Spurs have controlled play in the three other games in the series - winning by more than 10 points in each.
San Antonio suffered a scare in Game 2 of the series, when superstar centre Victor Wembanyama exited with a concussion. The Frenchman returned in Game 4 to lead with 27 points, 11 rebounds, seven blocks and a game-high plus-28 rating in the 114-93 victory.
The Spurs had to battle back from an early deficit, but the Spurs overwhelmed Portland late - outscoring the Trail Blazers 73-35 in the second half of the game.
“We need to find the answers before having our back against the wall,” Wembanyama said about the second-half comeback. “But that also shows the strength of our team in adversity. We stick together. We get closer to each other, we feed off of each other’s energy.”
This is the Spurs’ first trip to the playoffs since the 2018-19 season. The franchise is trying to return to the heights of the Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich era, where it qualified for the postseason in 22 consecutive years, winning five titles in that span.
