The New York Knicks haven't won a playoff series in 13 seasons.
That's a long time for a franchise that has seen such greats as Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Bill Bradley and Patrick Ewing dominate the hardwood.
Entering the 2013 Eastern Conference Playoffs as the No. 2 seed, New York landed a tough first round opponent in the veteran Boston Celtics, led by Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.
Through the first three games of the series, the basic NBA fan would've thought the Knicks were the team with the most postseason experience, as they went on to take a quick 3-0 series lead in rather convincing fashion. While N.Y. did drop Game 4 in overtime to prolong their chance at getting out of the first round, the Knicks were fully expected to close out the series at home Wednesday night in Game 5.
Behind poor shooting as a team for the second-consecutive game, New York let Boston inch a little closer in the series, losing 92-86.
New York's second-leading scorer J.R. Smith returned from a one game suspension he received at the end of Game 3 for elbowing Celtics guard Jason Terry. While Smith may have been confident that his returning to the rotation would help the Knicks close out the C's, the 27-year-old New Jersey native missed his first 10 shots.
While the Knicks jumped out to an early lead - scoring the games first 11 points - they were never able to sustain any rhythm following the hot start, allowing the veteran Celtics to seize control of the game.
Falling behind early, the experienced roster led by head coach Doc Rivers never stopped believing in their ability to win the game.
"We didn't panic and that's something we've done," Rivers told ESPN reporters after the victory. "I thought once the game got back to that five, six area, our guys were good again."
Boston certainly was good in this one, receiving help from top to bottom on their roster.
Sharp-shooting veteran Jason Terry provided the Green and White with 17 points off the bench while Paul Pierce added 16 of his own. Kevin Garnett was a nightmare for New York down low as he recorded 16 points, 18 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks.
Whenever Boston needed a clutch basket in Game 5, Jeff Green was the guy they turned to.
In 43 minutes of action, Green poured in 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting including two clutch three pointers to help the Celtics keep a fairly comfortable lead.
The offensive and defensive units played well for the Celtics as they were able to send the series back to Boston for Game 6.
The complete opposite performance came from Carmelo Anthony. The NBA Scoring Champion shot a miserable 8-for-24 from the field for a total of 22 points. Raymond Felton did his best to keep the Knicks in the game with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists but the New York effort simply was not there.
Even though they've dropped two in a row and now have to play a Game 6 in Boston, the confidence still resides with the Knicks and their head coach.
"I think we're fine," Mike Woodson told reporters. "Sure, we would've loved to close it out and move on, but nobody said it would be easy."
It will without a doubt not get any easier from this moment on for New York as they return to Boston for what they hope will be a series-clinching victory.
Boston is also starting to realize that they too are fully capable of winning this series and becoming the first team to advance following an 0-3 start to a playoff round.
Game 6 is set for Friday, May 3rd at 7:00pm, EDT. The playoff match-up can be seen on ESPN television.
See the highlights from Boston's Game 5 victory below:
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