The back-to-back losses have the Atlanta Hawks analyzing their arsenal of defensive schemes and bench rotations as they search for an answer to defend a high-powered Knicks offense. Karl-Anthony Towns had a triple-double on Saturday night as Atlanta sealed Jalen Brunson. The roles were reversed Tuesday night when the released Brunson scored 39 points.
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“Everyone is going to make adjustments,” Towns said. “So just being prepared for whatever the defense throws at us and being able to react accordingly.”
Defensively, the Knicks have found a solution for CJ McCollum, who stole Games 2 and 3 with key offensive performances. The Hawks’ leading scorers, Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, have struggled to replicate their regular-season success.
“Their defense never allowed us to consistently establish how we have to play to beat them,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said after Tuesday’s 126-97 loss. “We need to execute who we are and what we’ve done to be a good team and like I said, that’s tough against a team of their caliber.”
Meanwhile, in Boston, 76ers center Joel Embiid showed that he had been what the team was missing in just his second game after an appendectomy. The former league MVP led Philadelphia with 33 points and led the team to a 113-97 road victory.
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“He (Embiid) was dominant, especially in the second half,” Tyrese Maxey said after the game. “He did a really good job just inserting himself, and you know, I was proud of him tonight, man.”
The Sixers, with new momentum, will try to tie the series at home, while the Celtics hope to punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“It’s going to take everything we have,” Maxey said Tuesday. “It will take even more effort than it did tonight.”
The Timberwolves may not have lost confidence or swagger with injuries to star Anthony Edwards and spark plug Donte DiVincenzo, but their discipline and focus surely disappeared in a Game 5 loss in Denver, where they fell behind by as many as 27 points in the fourth quarter, with 25 turnovers the most glaring problem.
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Although Edwards and DiVincenzo are their two best 3-point shooters and offensive creators, a resurgence of the stifling defense that fueled the comeback in Game 2 and blowout victories in Games 3 and 4 will be the biggest key to the Timberwolves taking the series.
“There’s no question we miss Donte and Ant and all the things they do offensively and defensively, but we played a lot of Game 4 without those guys, so we still have some very good defenders elsewhere,” coach Chris Finch said. “I didn’t like our attacking mentality the other day. I thought we were waiting on our heels too much. We just have to be better at getting back to what we know will work best for us.”
New York Knicks at Atlanta Hawks
When and where to watch: Game 6, 7 p.m. EDT (ESPN)
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Series: New York leads 3-2.
Betting line: Knicks for 2.5.
What to know: The Knicks rank second in postseason scoring, averaging 113.2 points per game on 48.1% shooting from the field and 38.4% from 3-point range. Atlanta trails in all three categories, averaging 102.6 points per game on 44.8% shooting from the field and 32.2% from beyond the arc. Brunson is coming off his best offensive performance of the series with 39 points. His 22 career playoff games with 30 or more points are the most in franchise history. Towns has found a rhythm as a passer, recording 16 assists in the last two games and averaging 2.2 more assists per game than he did in the regular season. The Hawks’ Alexander-Walker is averaging 14.2 points per game this postseason, 6.8 less than his regular-season average.
Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ers
When and where to watch: Game 6, 8 p.m. EDT (Peacock)
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Series: Boston leads 3-2.
Betting line: Celtics for 6.5.
What you need to know: The Celtics lead the NBA in three-pointers made in the postseason (84) and rebounds per game (47.6). Jaylen Brown has been Boston’s leading scorer, averaging 25.8 points per game in the playoffs. Jayson Tatum leads almost every other category, averaging 10.6 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Payton Pritchard scored a postseason career-high 32 points against Philadelphia on Sunday night. In two playoff games against Boston, Embiid averaged 29.5 points almost exclusively from the field and the free throw line. Embiid was 1 of 11 on three-pointers in this series and 21 of 44 from the field. Maxey is averaging over 40 minutes per game in the playoffs with 25.6 points per game, 6.8 assists and 4.2 rebounds.
Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
When and where to watch: Game 6, 9:30 p.m. EDT (ESPN)
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Series: Minnesota leads 3-2.
Betting line: Nuggets for 5.5.
What to know: Ayo Dosunmu and Mike Conley Jr. earned their first starts of the series for Minnesota with Edwards and DiVincenzo sidelined with injuries. Dosunmu leads the team with 21.8 points per game in the postseason, seven more than his regular-season average. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are averaging over 25 points per game for the Nuggets, with Jokic also contributing 14 rebounds per game and a team-high 9.4 assists. He has two triple-doubles in the series.
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AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
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NBA AP: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA