Iman Shumpert was a huge part of the aggressive effort that finally closed out the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA playoffs. And it was Shumpert who ignited the Game 6 comeback that gave the Knicks the opportunity to extend the series with the Pacers. Unfortunately, the Knicks fell short and their season has ended.

The three ball, so crucial to the Knicks’ success on the season had, in large part, eluded them in this series. This was a huge part of their woes and the trend continued in the first half of Game 6. In the third quarter though, Shumpert, better known for his defense than his offense, led the way. First a 27 foot jumper, followed quickly by a 25 footer. Thirty seconds later, Iman made another three point basket from 26 feet. His three point barrage then ignited his teammates, with J.R Smith and Chris Copeland heating up from behind the arc as well.

Every fan watching Saturday night’s game expected the fourth quarter to be a battle and it certainly was. With the Orange and Blue down by three with 3:12 left to play, Tyson Chandler fouled out. A 9-0 run by the Pacers ensued, but by the time the game clock read 1.15, the score was back to 101-97.

That minute and change seemed endless and too quick at the same time for me. Kenyon Martin fouled out on a foul call sent that Coach Woodson into a rage. In the end though, the New York Knicks came up just a little bit short and the season is over.

The loss is heartbreaking both for the team and the fans. However, there is no shame in the way they went out. Shumpert himself fouled out at the eight second mark. But he especially had little to be sorry for after an exhilarating Game 6 performance.

Just over one year ago, Knicks fans winced as Iman fell to the court in pain. After the same surgery that kept Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls out for the entire season, Iman returned on January 17th, 2013. Even before his return he was an inspiration to the team, he created a pregame ritual in the huddle that pumped the Knicks up all season. His constant effort since his return, even while working to regain his full physical ability, has been amazing to watch.

When the New York Knicks drafted Shumpert with the 17th pick in the 2011 draft, there were some fans who were unfamiliar with his game. They are all educated now, especially after his performance in Game 6. It was the type of display that can only get Knick fans fired up to see Iman develop next season. The New York Knicks have had a great season and Iman, even playing a shortened season, has been a big part of that. He is the youngest player on the current roster. And even as the Donnie Walsh now leads the Indiana Pacers on to face the Miami Heat, I would like to thank him for one of the last decisions he had a hand in with the New York Knicks, drafting Iman Shumpert.

“At the free throw line, we just didn’t focus, point blank. We just weren’t locked in,” George said of Indiana’s horrid 19-for-33 game at the foul line.

Nineteen turnovers, including 13 in the second half and seven in the fourth quarter, added to the misery.

“We had a couple of possessions we didn’t do a good job of taking care of the ball and getting guys the ball where they wanted,” George said.

Pacers center Roy Hibbert was more emotional.

“We did not deserve to win,” Hibbert said. “We just did not come to play. … Some people were ready to go, some people were not. We had some really dumb situations on offense and defense whether it was turning the ball over or fouling … and that’s just not us.”

Two different approaches, same answers. The Pacers were unhappy with they played, and the Knicks are pleased there’s at least one more game left in their season.

“It was a total team effort, and we’re going to have to have that same commitment when we step on the floor on Saturday,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson said.

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The end result was not exactly what the Knicks desired as the road team suffered a 93-82 defeat and will now face a severe uphill battle trailing Indiana 3-1 with the series moving back to New York.

Woodson placed Kenyon Martin at the 4-spot next to Tyson Chandler at the center position. This move shifted Carmelo Anthony to small forward and Pablo Prigioni was sent to the bench. Indiana seemed to have no issues facing the new-look group from the Knicks. The Pacers jumped out to an 11-3 lead while New York struggled from the floor, only hitting 1-of-11 in the first five minutes of the first quarter.

The Knicks weathered the storm and rattled off an 11-3 run of their own to even the game at 14-14. However, Indiana quickly answered on a 9-2 spurt to close the quarter strong and build a seven-point advantage heading into the second period.

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The extent of Shumpert’s soreness was unclear, but Shumpert and coach Mike Woodson said they thought the forward would play in Game 4 on Tuesday night, when the Knicks’ Eastern Conference semifinal series against Indiana resumes. The Pacers lead 2-1.

J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin also missed the session due to lingering illnesses. Woodson said they will be game-time decisions.

Shumpert said the soreness was related to a fall he took in Game 3 and not the surgery he underwent last year on the knee. Shumpert appeared to bang the knee in a collision in the second half of the Knicks’ loss Saturday. He had surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament last year and had been relatively pain-free since his return.

Smith and Martin had also missed practice Sunday.

Smith first came down with the illness on Friday night. He played through a fever on Saturday but shot just 4-for-12. Smith is shooting 12-for-52 in this series.

Woodson said Monday that Martin had come down with the same illness that affected Smith. The coach expressed concern that the illness, which Smith described Saturday as a “virus,” could spread to other teammates.

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Shump had a fantastic rookie season—especially considering the expectations going in—but it was cut short early in the first round when he blew out his ACL. A year later, the guard is making up for the time he missed in his playoff debut.

Through the first eight games of the postseason, Shumpert is averaging 10 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals, all of which are up on his regular-season numbers. On top of that, he’s shooting an efficient 47 percent from the field, up from 40 percent.

One of the most impressive things about Shumpert is the way he’s shooting from downtown. He worked on his shooting motion a lot while he was out and is now shooting 46 percent from behind the arc. And it’s not just a fluke either, as he even shot 40 percent in the regular season.

With Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler and J.R. Smith struggling at times, Shumpert was one of the keys in getting past the Boston Celtics in the first round.

His biggest moment in the series came in Game 6, where he scored 17 points while also playing his typical elite defense. The Celtics threatened to come back with a 20-0 run in the fourth quarter, but Shumpert put a stop to that with a timely steal and fast-break finish.

That wasn’t the only timely play Shumpert has made in the postseason. He’s made a couple of game-changing put-back dunks, and his defense is always up to scratch when it matters most.

Shumpert was already considered a huge part of the Knicks’ future, and he’s showing us once again just how much potential he has.

A few weeks after his return, there were rumors that New York considered swapping Shumpert for Jared Dudley of the Phoenix Suns, but his play thus far has done enough to ensure the rumors won’t resurface in the summer.

Shumpert simply has too much talent and youth to be given away without receiving another elite prospect in return.

That doesn’t even take into account how important Shumpert is to team chemistry. He leads the pre-game huddle, is one of the most active cheerleaders on the bench and helps ball movement as a former point guard playing at small forward.

Much has been made of the Knicks’ old age this season, but having Shumpert gives them some much-needed energy and a chance to improve from within with limited resources to add players in free agency.

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Sunday’s matinee highlighted the physical presence from the road squad as Indiana marched into the Garden and stole Game 1, 102-95.

David West, Roy Hibbert, and the lengthy Pacers placed stress on the Knicks two main offensive weapons. Carmelo Anthony was held to just 10-of-28 shooting from the floor and J.R. Smith only hit four shots from the perimeter. Indiana’s bigs packed the paint and made life difficult for any attempted drives from the Knicks.

The turning point occurred at the conclusion of the second quarter when Paul George buried a 3-pointer to give Indiana a 52-46 lead heading into the locker room. Suddenly, the Pacers grasped the momentum after the Knicks jumped out of the gate with a 27-22 advantage at the end of the first quarter. In fact, New York put together a 9-0 run in the final 1:36 of that period and Raymond Felton scored 12 of his 18 points.

The third frame was troublesome for the home team. George Hill opened with a trey and when the Knicks were starting to rally down six points, Anthony was whistled for his fourth foul. Near the end of the quarter the lead ballooned to 81-65 following a corner long bomb from D.J. Augustin. The back-up point guard registered 16 points off the pine for Indiana while shooting 4-of-5 behind the arc.

Foul issues plagued New York throughout the day and even though Anthony escaped a dismissal from the contest, he played most of the fourth period with five fouls.

Despite the significant deficit the Knicks faced in the second half, they had an opportunity with 50.7 seconds on the game clock. Smith dropped two free throws to narrow the gap to six points. Unfortunately, the No. 2 seed could not create the stops on the defensive end and execute down the stretch from an offensive standpoint.

Anthony finished with a game-high 27 points and 11 boards, Smith added 17 off the bench, and Kenyon Martin scored 10. On the opposite side, West poured in 20 points, George scored 19, and six Pacers reached the double digit mark in points.

Courtesy of: knicks.com

The Knicks finally ended their first-round futility by taking down the Boston Celtics in a grueling six-game, first-round series. While the clutch, offensive performances of Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith will long be discussed in New York advancing to the second round, one player who also deserves a ton of credit in the effort is Iman Shumpert.

The second-year guard was both a defensive force and offensive spark plug when the Knicks needed him the most in the series. After returning from knee surgery in early January, Shumpert reverted to his usual style of harassing the opposition and creating miscues that led to easy, transition baskets for New York, a scheme that paid dividends for the remainder of the regular season and into the first-round match with Boston. Take for instance the outcome of Game #2, with the Knicks trailing by six at halftime against the seventh-seeded Celtics. Needing a lift, Shumpert came out firing and connected on a pair of long range jumpers to get New York back in the contest. It ultimately proved to be an offensive spark because the Orange and Blue then ran off 18 of the next 20 points in cruising to a blowout win.

Shumpert’s suffocating defense against Boston proved noteworthy as the Celtics couldn’t muster much on the offensive side of the ball. It continued into Game #3 in Boston, where Shumpert’s presence on defense was a catalyst in the Celtics turning the ball over 17 times while the Knicks continued to ride the offensive shooting of ‘Melo in cruising to another easy win. Even as New York struggled to put away Boston in both Game’s #4 and #5, Shumpert continued to shine when his number was called. In Game #4, with the Knicks trailing by as many as 20 points, Shumpert teamed with Raymond Felton to lead a spirited comeback that came up short in the overtime loss. He posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while dropping another 12 points and grabbing six rebounds in the surprising setback at The Garden. In Game #6, the start was similar to that of Game #3, with New York jumping out to a huge lead and seemingly in control to finally oust Boston, particularly in the third quarter when Shumpert made his presence known on offense. He had several highlight reel plays, including a putback dunk off a Pablo Prigioni miss that put the visitors up by as many as 20 headed into the final period. Then came the spirited comeback that nearly doomed the Knicks. Boston woke up and reeled off 20 straight points with seven and a half minutes to go, turning a “would-be” blowout into a heart stopping finish. But as the Celtics were inching closer and threating to swing the momentum their way, Shumpert was there to rescue his comrades. He created a key turnover from Paul Pierce and turned it into a breakaway layup that made it 77-69 with just under five minutes to play. The bucket accounted for two of his 15 points in the second half. He finished with 17 overall and it was moments such as that on offense and defense for which Shumpert deserves praise in the Knicks advancing to the semifinals for the first time in thirteen years. Even Boston head coach Doc Rivers stated in his postgame news conference that despite ‘Melo’s last-minute heroics, Shumpert was the Knicks “best player” in the Game #6 clincher for what many say was his best overall game of the year.

As the Knicks prepare to face Indiana in the next round, look for Shumpert to continue mixing it up on both sides of the ball against a very physical Pacers’ squad. He’ll likely match up against All-Star forward Paul George in what should make for a very interesting series between the two Eastern Conference rivals.

With the win, New York advances to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, taking the series by a 4-2 margin. It’s the first playoff series New York has won since the 1999-2000 season. Jeff Green had 21 points to lead the hosts, who fell short despite cutting a 26-point deficit to four in the closing moments in the fourth quarter.

The second-year guard provided the Knicks with a major boost in the second half, scoring 15 of his 17 points after intermission, including burying all three of his 3-point baskets. Shumpert also chipped in on the defensive end as well with four rebounds and a pair of steals.

Courtesy of: nba.com

Kevin Garnett led the way with 16 points and 18 rebounds. Jeff Green scored 18 points, Brandon Bass and Jason Terry had 17 apiece and Paul Pierce added 16 points.

Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith went a combined 11-for-38 for the Knicks, who have lost two straight games after taking a 3-0 lead in the series.

Anthony suffered a fourth-quarter shoulder injury after Garnett appeared to pull his arm and he finished with 22 points on 8-for-24 shooting. Knicks coach Mike Woodson said he was “fine” afterward.

Smith had 14 points on 3-for-14. Raymond Felton added 21 points for the Knicks.

Game 6 is set for Friday night in Boston, with a potential Game 7 slated for Sunday afternoon at the Garden.

Unable to close this series out at home, the Knicks are still seeking their first playoff series win since 2000.

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