Knicks 88, Celtics 80: Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points and visiting New York took control early before holding off a furious comeback to win the Eastern Conference playoff series in six games. Iman Shumpert scored 17 points and Pablo Prigioni added 14 for the second-seeded Knicks, who bounced back from consecutive losses to win their first postseason series since 2000 and advance to play No. 3 seed Indiana in the next round.

Thunder close out Rockets HOUSTON -- For the Oklahoma City Thunder, this first step without Russell Westbrook was the toughest, the most trying, the most taxing. On the fly, the Thunder had to readjust and completely alter what they were all while fending off the eighth-seeded Houston Rockets, whose burgeoning confidence swelled with each passing quarter of each game.

(Updated: UPDATES that Luol Deng will miss game in Para 2) The Brooklyn Nets attempt to become the ninth team in NBA history to recover from a 3-1 deficit and win a postseason series when they host the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference first-round series. Chicago looked to be in good shape after its epic triple-overtime victory in Game 4 but the Nets bounced back with two solid efforts, including a 95-92 win on Thursday in Game 6 in Chicago.

Houston, May 15 (EFE).- The San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers scored convincing home victories over the Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks, respectively, to move within a victory of a berth in the Conference Finals. Spurs point guard Tony Parker spearheaded his team's attack in a 109-91 victory over the Warriors Tuesday night at the AT&T Center in Game 5 of their Western Conference second-round match-up, scoring 25 points to lead a group of five San Antonio players in double figures and also dishing out 10 assists.