The NBA schedule on Wednesday features the Oklahoma City Thunder and New York Knicks hosting Game 5s with the opportunity to end their first-round series following failed sweeps. It also includes a Game 5 between the Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks that will give the winner a 3-2 advantage.
NBA Playoff schedule 2013: Knicks and Thunder get second cracks to win elimination games
The Knicks and Thunder each get another shot at sending their first-round opponents home while the Hawks and Pacers battle for a series lead.
Bob Levey
At 7 p.m. ET on TNT, the Knicks hope to end the Boston Celtics' season at Madison Square Garden after Doc Rivers' team staved off elimination in Game 4. Jason Terry fueled Boston down the stretch and scored the final nine points in a 97-90 overtime victory. But New York has the added advantage of J.R. Smith on Wednesday. The Sixth Man of the Year was suspended for Game 4 after elbowing Terry in the face a game prior, and the Knicks desperately missed his instant offense.
Smith added fuel to the fire on Tuesday, wondering aloud who Terry is and confidently assuring the media that the Knicks would have won the series in a sweep had he been available on Monday, according to The Boston Globe.
Following the Knicks and Celtics on TNT, the Thunder return home to face the Houston Rockets, who like Boston extended their season with a Game 4 victory. A missed floater by Thunder point guard Reggie Jackson was short, Serge Ibaka missed a tip-in to tie it as the game clock ran out and the Rockets won, 105-103, at home on Monday night to force a Game 5 that tips at 9:30 p.m.
Whether Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin can give it a go despite a chest contusion will be important in this one. Nevertheless, Houston got enough help alongside James Harden in Game 4 as Chandler Parsons scored 27 and was two assists shy of a triple-double. Increasing the Rockets' confidence heading into Game 5, the Thunder are still learning to play without their own point guard, Russell Westbrook.
But the most intriguing game might be the one on NBATV starting in between the TNT tips. Beginning at 8 p.m., the Pacers return to the friendly confines of Bankers Life Fieldhouse after losing their 12th and 13th games in a row at Atlanta’s Philips Arena. They beat the Hawks easily at home in the first two games of the series, but Atlanta returned the favor in an equally dominating way to tie the series at two games apiece.
| Game | Time (ET) | TV |
| Celtics at Knicks | 7 p.m. | TNT |
| Hawks at Pacers | 8 p.m. | NBATV |
| Rockets at Thunder | 9:30 p.m. | TNT |
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