The New York Knicks will look to keep their season alive tonight as they prepare to face the Indiana Pacers in a must win game 5 from Madison Square Garden.

The New York Knicks will look to keep their season alive tonight as they prepare to face the Indiana Pacers in a must win game 5 at Madison Square Garden.

Only 8 teams in NBA history have been able to come back from a 3-1 deficit, and if the Knicks have any chance at becoming the ninth they are going to have to start shooting the ball a lot better than they have to this point.

Averaging just 88 points per game on 41% shooting in the series, the Knicks hope things will be different as they return to their home floor. Knicks head coach Mike Woodson just wants to see his team play with more confidence in game 5:

From ESPN:

All indications point to Knicks head coach Mike Woodson returning to his regular rotation for game 5, after trying to mix things up by going to a bigger lineup in Indiana. This means you should expect to see more Pablo Prigioni, who played only 3 1/2 minutes in game 4. Overall the Knicks have been a better team with Prigioni in the starting lineup, going 16-2 during the regular season when Prigioni started.

Ultimately if the Knicks are to make a come back in this series they desperately need J.R. Smith to start playing better. Smith, who is shooting 28% in this series, accepted responsibility for his poor play after game 4 in Indiana:

If Smith can finally get going look for the Knicks to climb back into the series tonight and put the pressure on Indiana to win a close out game 6 at home. If J.R. continues to struggle we might see the New York Knicks 2012-1013 season come to an embarrassing end tonight in Madison Square Garden.

Game Notes

From ESPN:

The Knicks may be down, but are they out? 18 years ago, the Knicks were shocked at home in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals when Reggie Miller scored 8 points in 8.9 seconds. The Knicks would lose the game but rebound to win Game 2. They lost Game 3 and 4 in Indiana and faced elimination heading back to Madison Square Garden just like what New York is facing tomorrow. They won Game 5 thanks to a Patrick Ewing 8-footer with 1.8 seconds left and forced Game 7 after winning Game 6 in Indy by 10 points. The Knicks would lose in Game 7 by 2 points as Patrick Ewing’s layup bounced off the back rim with 1 second left in the 4th Qtr.

Jason Kidd is scoreless in 8 straight playoff games and hasn’t scored since April 23rd (Game 2 vs Boston) The last time he scored a 2-point field goal was April 7th and dating back to March 27th, Kidd is shooting 18-71 FG (16-59 3-pt FG) including the playoffs. That’s right, just TWO made 2-point field goals in the last 7 weeks.

Schedule (Pacers lead 3-1)

Game 1 – Pacers 102 Knicks 95

Game 2 – Knicks 105 Pacers 79

Game 3 – Pacers 82 Knicks 71

Game 4 – Pacers 93 Knicks 82

Game 5 – Thurs May 16 at Knicks 8:00 P.M. ESPN

Game 6 * Sat May 18 at Pacers ESPN

Game 7 * Mon May 20 at Knicks 8:00 P.M. TNT

*if necessary

Season Series (Tied 2-2)

November 18, 2012 – Knicks 88 Pacers 76

January 10, 2013 – Pacers 81 Knicks 76