Three Game 6s mean three teams can advance as the NBA playoffs continue on TSN on Thursday.
The drama begins with Game 6 of the series between the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks at 7p.m. ET / 4p.m. PT, then the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers tip off at 8p.m. ET / 5p.m. PT, followed by the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves going head to head at 9:30p.m. ET / 6:30p.m. PT.
You can watch all of the action LIVE, with the Knicks and Hawks matching up on TSN4, TSN.ca and the TSN App. The Celtics and 76ers face off on TSN5, TSN.ca and the TSN App, while the Nuggets and Timberwolves can be viewed on TSN4, TSN.ca and the TSN App. Click here for the full broadcast schedule.
Knicks look to keep rolling to second round in Game 6
In the bigger picture, the Knicks have been the far superior team against the Hawks in this series - New York has outscored Atlanta 567-513 overall, or an average score of 113.4-102.6 per game.
Atlanta took home hard-fought wins in Games 2 and 3, each victory by one point. On the other side, each of the three victories for the Knicks have been by double digits, including a 126-97 blowout victory in Game 5.
If Game 5 was any indication, the Knicks have learned their lesson about how hard the Hawks can play when their back is against the wall.
“The ball went in but I was just happy that we were able to keep the lead and play well with it,” Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson said after Game 5. “They’re a team that’s capable of going on runs, as we know from early in the series to close out games, but I just like the way we played in the fourth and how we kept the lead.”
Brunson scored 17 of his game-high 39 points in Game 5 in the fourth quarter as the Knicks were able to secure the big win.
The Hawks - who have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA since the All-Star break, using a 19-6 run to surge into the No. 6 seed - have one more chance on home court to win and force a Game 7. Hawks coach Quin Snyder is hoping the take can make adjustments to what they saw in Game 5 to make it happen.
“Their defence never really let us establish consistently how we need to play to beat them,” Snyder said after Tuesday’s loss. “We need to execute on who we are and what we’ve done to be a good team, and like I said, that’s hard against a team of their calibre.”
Embiid, 76ers look to repeat Game 5 showing to force a Game 7
The No. 7 seed 76ers looked to be in deep trouble after getting blown out 128-96 on home court in Game 4, even with star centre Joel Embiid back in the lineup.
In Game 5 on Tuesday, however, Embiid took over to deliver a masterful performance - just 19 days removed from undergoing an appendectomy - scoring 33 points and adding eight assists to lead the 76ers to a 113-97 victory.
“Obviously you don’t want to go home, so you do whatever it takes,” said Embiid after the game. “I thought defensively we did a much better job, especially not overhelping as we did last game. And yeah, then offensively it becomes a little easier when you’re making shots. We definitely made more shots than we did last game. So that’s a good combination when you want to win a basketball game.”
Philadelphia’s defence was swarming, and the Celtics missed their final 14 field goals in the contest. But the Celtics, bolstered by the superstar duo of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, did not seem phased by the poor performance.
“First of all, give them credit,” said Tatum after Tuesday’s game. “They played well. And yeah, a few looks that we felt good about that we just didn’t make.
“But sometimes that happens. You know, it’s just tough. Not scoring the way you want to puts a lot of pressure on your defense, and they made some plays at the other end.”
Timberwolves try to survive injuries, advance at home
The Nuggets have advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs in six of the past seven seasons, and won the NBA title in 2023. The No. 6-seed Timberwolves are a good team, but the Nuggets proved in Game 5 that they would not be an easy out.
Minnesota gets a chance to close things out again in Game 6 on home court on Thursday, where they won Games 3 and 4, each by more than 15 points.
The story in the series for the Timberwolves now has been injuries to starting guard Donte DiVincenzo (torn Achilles) and superstar Anthony Edwards (knee).
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch is adamant that the team can still find a way to win without two of their best scorers.
“There’s no doubt that we miss Donte and Ant and all the things they do offensively and defensively, but we played a large part of Game 4 without those guys, so we still have really good defenders elsewhere,” Finch said. “I didn’t like our attack mindset the other day. I thought we kind of waited on our heels a little bit too much. We’ve just got to be better getting back to what we know will work for us better.”
The Timberwolves have lost in the Western Conference Finals each of the past two seasons. There’s no shortage of playoff pedigree between these two teams.
