J.R. Smith stopped missing all of his shots. Carmelo Anthony put in a very Carmelo Anthony-esque performance. Jason Kidd ... well, Jason Kidd still hasn't scored a point in this series, but he also took only one shot, so that's not too bad. Regardless, the Knicks managed a comfortable win over the Pacers, and George Hill is iffy thanks to a concussion. Things are looking much brighter for the Knicks. We're not calling them favorites, of course, but considering how they looked in the first four games of this series, they're definitely in a much better position.

• hatguy70: "The Pacers miss Hill's defense, rebounding and toughness even more than his scoring. Augustine is a solid backup, but he is not a good defender and he's too small to crash the boards effectively. Hopefully, this is a minor concussion and Hill can come back. With Hill, the Pacers are better than the Knicks, but without him, not so much."
• jorlwebb1: "Last nights game wasn't a blow out. The Pacers missed Hill's 3-point threat, but other guys can do better than what they showed last night and close out this series at home."
• jrnash417: "Hope Hill is back for game 6. I'm glad the NBA is taking concussions seriously, even though the timing is really unfortunate. Go Pacers!"
• IvyMilVet: "Knicks looked 'better', but don't fool ourselves. They have a long way to go before they get back into this series. Mike Woodson's desire to give minutes to Kidd and Stat really concerns me. Those are wasted minutes in which Copeland, Pablo, and Martin can play more. Benches shorten during playoff time, but MW's gets longer. Shows one reason he's unfit as a big time head coach."
• cpenn31: "If that's the Knicks 'bringing it" then this series is over. That's as bad as I've seen Indiana play in a month. They even play an average game last night and they win. They play a good game and they win by 20."

What do you think? Leave your comments below.

Could the Pacers win the series against the Knicks if George Hill (concussion) doesn't return?

•  
  69%
  Yes
•  
  31%
  No

(Total votes: 55,406)

The Bulls made a game of it, but in the end, their loss to the Heat might have been an inevitability. Chicago's a good team, but without Derrick Rose, it's just short of elite. Rose has come under fire for his playoff absence this season -- he seemed to be approaching full speed in practice, and he could have definitely helped the Bulls against LeBron James & Co. -- but the real question is what his future looks like. ACL injuries are no joke, and Rose is important enough to the Bulls that our experts don't fault him for sitting out, but that might be cold comfort to fans focused on the here and now.

Would the Bulls have advanced farther than the conference semifinals with Derrick Rose?

•  
  24%
  Yes, to the NBA Finals
•  
  37%
  Yes, to the conference finals
•  
  39%
  No

(Total votes: 3,772)

What do you expect out of Derrick Rose next season?

•  
  37%
  He'll return to form immediately
•  
  52%
  He'll take time to return to form
•  
  11%
  He won't return to form

(Total votes: 3,943)

Will the Bulls ever win a championship with Derrick Rose?

•  
  44%
  Yes
•  
  56%
  No

(Total votes: 22,756)

Let's see, how can we best sum up the way the Knicks have been playing in these past few games against the Pacers? Should we just link up the recap of their 93-82 loss on Tuesday night? What about an article where J.R. Smith takes responsibility for his dreadful shooting performance? Should we ask you to imagine the noise a sad trombone makes? Wait, we think we know: Just look at Carmelo Anthony's expression in the video above, and you'll get a sense of how bad the Knicks have been shooting.

What are you expecting out of Carmelo Anthony in Game 5 of the Knicks-Pacers series?

•  
  25%
  Monster game
•  
  34%
  Above-average game
•  
  28%
  Average game
•  
  13%
  Below-average game

(Total votes: 52,983)

What do you expect out of J.R. Smith (shooting 28 percent from the field against the Pacers) in Game 5?

•  
  29%
  He'll return to form
•  
  71%
  He'll continue to struggle

(Total votes: 46,378)

Will Jason Kidd (zero points in the past eight games) score in the Knicks-Pacers series?

•  
  62%
  Yes
•  
  38%
  No

(Total votes: 40,118)

A Sixth Man of the Year award just isn't worth as much as it used to be. J.R. Smith is finding that out in these playoffs -- the reigning ''best guy off the bench'' winner has been ice cold as of late, shooting a mere 26.3 percent from the field over the past four games. It's gotten so bad that the Knicks are reportedly considering reducing Smith's minutes until he gets back on track. Smith may be laying brick after brick, but a public show of confidence in him might be just what he needs -- if the team can survive his incredibly cold streak, that is.

• LeBrons_Ventriloquist: "He plays hard and has become a much better defensive player, but his offensive woes cannot be tolerated over an extended a period of time, especially when you consider where we are in the season."
• slickvicXLVI: "no disrespect JR, but I think this is the right move. if he's gonna continue building houses, you have to reduce his minutes. And with Shumpert stepping it up big time, JR is on a short leash. Shumpert is a much better defender, and he's given the Knicks better offense so far."
• JamesWind: "Dude won the 6th man award and immediately proceeded too become to big for his britches. Now he can't handle the spotlight or the pressure. Riding the pine a little more should help him reassess his priorities and improve his play."
• NYKin2013: "Whats so impressive about Knicks is that JR Smith can have a terrible night and they still dominate. shows how much firepower and depth the Knicks have."
• chilibest2: "decreasing his minutes wont get him shooting better. hes a scorer, he just needs to play thru the slump and shots will start to fall."
• yanks201028: "He may not score 30 but he will be a factor as this series continues! He will step up, you watch!"

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