By MATTHEW FALKENBURY
GREENBURGH, N.Y. – It had been less than 24 hours since the Knicks had finally eliminated the Celtics and finally won a playoff series after 13 years of waiting.
But there they were, back at practice, getting ready to play the Indiana Pacers in Game One of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Sunday afternoon.
The NBA did neither team any favors by giving them one day off before starting their series, which could be very physical. For the Knicks, the thing that they want to take advantage of, is that they will have home court advantage.
“We put ourselves in this position this year to host the first round and the second round at home and we can’t lose at home,” coach Mike Woodson said. “It’s important that you win your home games. It starts tomorrow, we got to come out blazing, committed to 48 minutes and stay focused and stay the course.”
Carmelo Anthony, whose seven points down the stretch helped the Knicks put the Celtics away in Game Six, was at practice today after playing with a shoulder injury the past couple of games.
“[The shoulder] felt pretty good today. The only time that I really feel it is when I get hit extremely hard and gets yanked on or something like that. But, other than that, I try not to think about it” Anthony said. “I’m good to go, I’m ready to go.”
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