The NBA schedule picks up on Thursday in TNT and starts with the New York Knicks taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden at 8 pm, while the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors will play the second game of the doubleheader coming at 10:30 pm ET and Thursday also marks the release of the All-Star reserves for the east and west.
The TNT games tip off after the Indiana Pacers and the Phoenix Suns play in Indy at 7 pm and there are three games on the schedule for Thursday. The Pacers come into the day first in the eastern conference and they have been playing very well and now they are three games ahead of the Miami Heat and that could be huge come playoff time. The Knicks are down at the bottom of the east and are not in the playoffs right now, while the Cavaliers are one spot below NY.
Oklahoma City and San Antonio are first in the Western conference and the Clippers are sitting in fourth place right now, while the Warriors are in seventh and they have been playing well, including Stephen Curry, who is making his first All-Star start. The Knicks come into the game looking to get back to .500 at some point in the second half and that means beating teams like Cleveland at home at the Garden for nationally televised games and Carmelo Anthony will be a player to watch after he dropped over 60 points in a game last week.
The Knicks are coming in after the blowout win over the Boston Celtics and Anthony got 24 points in that game and now he will be the focal point of the offense before the team takes on the Miami Heat at MSG on Saturday night. The Pacers come in after a win over the Lakers on the road, while the Clippers won over the Washington Wizards.
