Point guard George Hill will be available to play for the Indiana Pacers in tonight’s Game 6 vs the New York Knicks. Although he’s not a star, Hill is a big part of the Pacers, and having him active definitely makes them a better team.

From the Pacers:

Over the last two days under the care of the Indiana Pacers’ medical staff, George Hill has participated in each step of the NBA’s Return-to-Participation Exertion Protocol as part of the NBA’s Concussion Policy.   During the process, George remained symptom-free after each step including his workouts earlier today.  After consultation with Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher, the NBA’s Director of Concussion Management, the Pacers’ team physicians have cleared George to play in tonight’s game.

It would be a mistake to view this as a direct sequel to 2011, when eighth-seeded Memphis knocked off the No. 1 Spurs in the first round to engineer one of the biggest upsets in recent NBA history.

The Grizzlies no longer have the steady, veteran hand of Shane Battier, or the wild cards that were Greivis Vasquez and O.J. Mayo. Neither are the Spurs relying on spare parts to shore up their front court around a hobbled Tim Duncan.

But with most of the main faces returning — Duncan, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, Tony Parker, Mike Conley, Manu Ginobili, both coaches — the tone of the matchup will remain the same: Football on hardwood.

Perhaps no team in the NBA is better at imposing their will than the Grizzlies. It is not by accident that their slogans — “Grit ‘N Grind” and “Whoop That Trick” — imply violence. The Grizzlies are tough, the Grizzlies are physical, and the Grizzlies are relentless, a perfect match with the blue-collar city they represent.

“If you thought this was physical,” Duncan said after the Spurs eliminated Golden State, “it’s going to turn up about 10 notches.”

The Spurs flinched badly under such circumstances two years ago, becoming only the fourth No. 1 seed to bow out in the first round. But after recapturing some of the defensive edge from their past championship campaigns, they can now give almost as good as they get.

– Reported by Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News

The New York Knicks visit the Indiana Pacers at 8 p.m. ET tonight for Game 6 of the Eastern conference semi-finals. With the Pacers up, the Knicks must win or be eliminated from the postseason.

Here’s the Associated Press on the matchup:

The Indiana Pacers won’t know until Saturday night whether point guard George Hill will start in Game 6 against New York.

Hill participated in the team’s morning shootaround, which is part of the process of passing his concussion test. But doctors had not yet cleared Hill to play.

”He just did some work today. He looked fine, but he has to do more tests this afternoon,” coach Frank Vogel said. ”There’s a long list of things that’s part of the NBA’s protocol. He’s in the middle of that process. He’s not ruled out, not cleared to play. He’s a game-time decision.”

Vogel said he was preparing to play without Hill.

Hill scored 26 points Tuesday night in Game 4 after a first-quarter collision with Knicks center Tyson Chandler. Two days later, after the team’s shootaround, Hill was still complaining of headaches. Team doctors then diagnosed him with a concussion, forcing him to sit out Game 5. His replacement, D.J. Augustin, played nearly 39 minutes and had no assists as the Pacers lost 85-75. The win allowed New York to climb back within 3-2 in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals.

Indiana gets a second chance to close out the series Saturday at home, where they are 5-0 in the postseason and have won all five games by double digits.

Vogel has not said who will start Saturday if Hill does not play.

”We prepare for guys to be out. D.J. Augustin, Ben Hansbrough. Lance (Stephenson) understands that he has to play some (point guard),” Vogel said. ”They’ve prepared for that all year. . Mentally for those guys, knowing might help them a little bit.”

– Reported by Michael Marot of the Associated Press

Here is the rest of the How to Win Game 6 blueprint [for the Knicks]:

“Forty-eight minutes of commitment,” Woodson said on ESPN radio yesterday.

Limit the Pacers’ second-chance points because they have difficulty scoring. Every Knick crashes the boards.

Jump on the Pacers early, make them start sweating a Game 7 at the Garden and take the crowd out of it at the same time.

Twenty more minutes for Chris Copeland. In an ugly series, he can be the difference with his 3-point shooting. He opens the floor up for Melo and Co.

Keep encouraging J.R. Smith.

“He made a very positive step forward,” Woodson said. He’s long overdue for a breakout game.

No whining about the referees. Keep your composure.

Thirty points and a big fourth quarter from Carmelo Anthony.

– Reported by Steve Serby of the New York Post

Serbian police say Predrag Danilovic, who played for the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks, is seriously injured after being stabbed in a fight.

Police say Danilovic was hurt during a brawl early Saturday in a cafe in a residential part of the capital, Belgrade. Doctors say Danilovic underwent an operation to treat injuries to his abdomen, head and arms.

– Reported by the Associated Press

Not many were calling Victor Oladipo a potential top-10 draft pick when he was a freshman defensive specialist at Indiana.

The general consensus was that he had to improve offensively to be considered an NBA prospect.

Guess NBA teams already have an idea of Oladipo’s work ethic.

Flash-forward two basketball seasons. It will stun analysts if Oladipo doesn’t hear his name called among the top-10 players during the NBA draft June 27.

Oladipo talked about his meteoric rise over the past two days at the NBA predraft combine and even he has a hard time believing his good fortune.

“I remember back a couple of months ago I wasn’t getting any attention, a couple of years ago I wasn’t getting any attention so it’s all kind of surreal for me every time,” Oladipo said at the Attack Athletics gym. “It just drives me. I know what it feels like to be at the bottom and be overlooked and every thing like that. I’m just going to use the experience to keep working hard and staying in the gym.”

– Reported by Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press

C.J. McCollum remains intrigued with the 76ers even though they didn’t request to interview him at the NBA draft combine.

“I was [attending college] pretty close to Philadelphia, out in Bethlehem,” the Lehigh senior guard said. “So I will be interested to see if they are taking a guard or a post player in this draft.”

The organization’s biggest needs are a post player and a backup point guard. However, one could argue that McCollum could be a solid addition to a team planning to make offseason moves via trades and free agency.

“I’m a fan of the Philadelphia 76ers,” McCollum said. “So it will be interesting to see what happens.”

– Reported by Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer

Once his purchase of the Kings is finalized, Vivek Ranadive should take a pick and a shovel, perhaps borrow a battering ram and a bulldozer, and obliterate the section of Sleep Train Arena that houses the team’s basketball operations.

While this is regarded as a weak draft class, there is no shortage of talent on the front-office or coaching markets.

Veteran coaches Jerry Sloan, Nate McMillan, Jeff and Stan Van Gundy are available, as are highly regarded assistants Mike Malone and Brian Shaw. Established front-office types eager to join or take over a staff include Larry Bird, Don Nelson and Chris Mullin. And while Warriors special assistant Jerry West undoubtedly would push Golden State’s Travis Schlenk, another famous former coach is itching to become involved in personnel.

Phil Jackson here, Jeanie Buss down there? Dare we be tempted to discuss?

Who knows? New bosses tend to hire people they know, so keep an eye on current Warriors. And Ranadive has yet to even reveal the extent of the anticipated overhaul. But his track record within the software industry suggests someone who moves swiftly.

– Reported by Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee

Damon Stoudamire was one of most popular players in Arizona history — an electrifying, high-scoring guard with a cool nickname.

Now, Mighty Mouse is headed back to the desert.

The former Portland Trail Blazers point guard and Wilson High School graduate was hired as an assistant coach under Sean Miller on Friday, a move that’s sure to be a big hit with one of college basketball’s most fervid fan bases.

“We are thrilled to welcome back Damon Stoudamire to the University of Arizona to become a part of our coaching staff,” Miller said in a statement. “Damon is an immensely talented recruiter, and is also very comfortable teaching and coaching the game. More importantly, his credibility in all aspects of our game is unmatched — he simply has ‘been there and done that’ at the highest level. I believe strongly that he will be invaluable in helping many of our current and future student-athletes do the same.”

– Reported by the Associated Press

Saturday night, the Knicks either take a giant step toward South Beach by forcing a Game 7 at the Garden or their season is over.

The Knicks didn’t break their 40-year championship drought Thursday night in a season-saving 85-75 victory, but coach Mike Woodson may have found the formula to beat Indiana and zoom into the Eastern Conference Finals in Miami.

Woodson discovered a new second-half rotation that lacks Jason Kidd and a rusty Amar’e Stoudemire with rookie scoring ace Chris Copeland and point guard Pablo Prigioni taking their places. It spread the floor and made the Knicks look like themselves again.

Perhaps the basketball gods are finally smiling on this cursed franchise as the Knicks try to become only the ninth team to ever rally back from a 3-1 hole.

– Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Rudy Gobert was the biggest prospect at the NBA draft combine.

The center from France stands 7 foot 1/2 in his socks and 7-2 in his sneakers. He has an incredible 7-81/2 wingspan and massive hands.

Yet the 20-year-old is a raw talent. He needs to get stronger and polish up his post game in order to contribute in the NBA.

However, his athleticism and size are why he’s projected to be a mid-first-round pick in June’s draft. The 76ers, who are likely to get the 11th pick, interviewed Gobert here on Friday.

– Reported by Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer

Rookie forward Draymond Green walked out of Golden State’s practice facility Friday holding a yellow ”We Are Warriors” shirt, taking home the small souvenir to savor the team’s captivating playoff run.

Even though the season ended so painfully, the Warriors will carry more positive memories from the 2012-13 campaign than they ever imagined back in training camp. No banner will be raised and no rings will be awarded, but there was a sense of accomplishment all around.

”The expectations for us this year, we exceeded all of them plus way more,” Green said.

The Warriors overcame injury setbacks all season to earn a rare playoff berth, pulled off a first-round upset against Denver and pushed the four-time champion San Antonio Spurs to six games in the Western Conference semifinals. The franchise won more postseason games than it had in 36 years and might be on the brink of something even more special.

If Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut can find a way to stay healthy, the Warriors believe they can be a major championship contender in the coming years.

– Reported by Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press

The Miami Heat have LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The Spurs have dominated for years with the trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

Now the Memphis Grizzlies, who traded their leading scorer in January, have surged into their first Western Conference finals behind an unlikely Big Three of their own.

Marc Gasol still is Pau’s little brother to some. Memphis thought about trading guard Mike Conley, the son of a track star, early in his career. And Memphis is Zach Randolph’s fourth NBA team.

”Me, Marc and Zach, we all tried to take the team and put them on our back and say, ‘Hey, this is what we’re going to do. This is what we’ve got to do to be great and get to where we want to go,”’ Conley said Friday. ”We knew we had to step up, and we all did that.”

That they have.

The Grizzlies never won a playoff series with Gay on the court. When they beat the Spurs in the first round in 2011, it came with Gay sidelined by an injury.

– Reported by Teresa M. Walker of the Associated Press

Pacers guard George Hill will have another concussion test before Saturday’s home playoff game.

Hill missed Thursday night’s game after complaining of headaches. He was diagnosed with a concussion. NBA policy requires players to pass a concussion test before returning to action. Hill did not practice Friday, and coach Frank Vogel said he had not spoken with him. Vogel said Hill was expected to meet with doctors later Friday.

– Reported by the Associated Press

Larry Drew is preparing to part ways with the Hawks and will interview for the head coach position with the Bucks Monday.

Drew told the Atlanta Journal Constitution Friday that in a meeting with general manager Danny Ferry earlier this week the two came to an amicable agreement to allow the coach to interview for other vacant positions in the league. The Bucks called Ferry about speaking with Drew, who is still under contract until June 30, and they were granted permission.

“I’ve moved on from the situation,” Drew told the AJC. “We had a very professional talk just trying to get things in order since I’m still under contract.”

– Reported by Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Kawhi Leonard has matured faster than anyone could have expected in his two seasons with the Spurs.

That he started for Gregg Popovich as a rookie was enough to herald his supreme potential. He’s done nothing but improve since then, regularly adding wrinkles to his foundation of lockdown defense and efficient offense.

The young small forward took the latest step in his apparent march to stardom in the Spurs’ 4-2 victory over Golden State in the Western Conference semifinals. For the first time in his exceedingly bright, if short, career, he consistently and significantly impacted a playoff series.

Leonard was also excellent against the Lakers. But the Spurs were always going to win that series after injuries rendered the Lakers a shell of themselves. Against the Warriors, however, they would have been hard-pressed to advance without him.

Dominant might be a few degrees too strong to describe his performance. But if Leonard didn’t, he wasn’t far off as he chipped in with his usual array of hustle plays and timely buckets, pulled down rebounds at an elite rate for his position and rendered Klay Thompson virtually invisible.

– Reported by Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News (Blog)

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson announced to screaming throngs of Kings fans Friday that the deal to sell the NBA franchise to a group led by software tycoon Vivek Ranadive has been signed.

The announcement at a City Hall rally brings to an end nearly five months of maneuvering by Johnson to secure a new ownership group, convince the council to commit to building a new downtown arena, and to show the NBA that the capitol city of the most populous state in the nation has the fan base to make the venture successful.

”This was one heck of a comeback,” Johnson, a former NBA All-Star, said on a stage shared with two dozen investors, fans and politicians who had worked to keep the franchise in the city.

Earlier this week, NBA owners rejected a bid to move the franchise to Seattle.

– Reported by Tracie Cone of the Associated Press

Slow at the start of the series and strong at the end, the San Antonio Spurs wore out the Golden State Warriors the way they have so many other opponents.

Tim Duncan had 19 points and six rebounds, Kawhi Leonard added 16 points and 10 rebounds and the Spurs held off a furious final rally to beat the Warriors 94-82 in Game 6 on Thursday night and advance to the Western Conference finals.

”They’ve got great character. They’re competitive. They know there’s not a million chances to do this sort of thing. They wanted it,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of his squad.

Tony Parker shook off a poor start to score 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter and Tiago Splitter added a career-playoff high 14 points for San Antonio, which had a 13-point lead in the third quarter dissolve to two in the final minutes.

Stephen Curry shot 10 of 25 from the floor to score 22 points on a nagging left ankle, and Jarrett Jack had 15 points as the injury-saddled Warriors finally tired. Rookie forward Harrison Barnes also suffered a head injury in the second quarter, returned in the third and was sidelined in the fourth with a headache.

The Spurs outshot Golden State 45 percent to 39 percent and outrebounded them 46 to 40.

Second-seeded San Antonio will open the conference finals at home against Memphis on Sunday. The fifth-seeded Grizzlies eliminated Oklahoma City in five games…

Klay Thompson, who had 10 points on 4-for-12 shooting, made a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter that sliced San Antonio’s lead to three. Then Curry’s pull-up jumper brought the Warriors within 77-75 with 4:52 to play.

– Reported by Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press

For the New York Knicks, it was about playing harder, even if not really much better.

Saving their season would be more about effort than execution.

”Tonight it was just one of them days where you just got to leave it out there on the basketball court,” Carmelo Anthony said.

Now they have to do it two more times.

Anthony scored 28 points and the Knicks avoided elimination in the Eastern Conference semifinals with an 85-75 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 on Thursday night.

Reserves J.R. Smith and Chris Copeland each had 13 points for the Knicks, who trail 3-2 and will need a victory Saturday in Indiana to force a seventh game back here Monday. They are trying to become the ninth NBA team to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a series…

Paul George had 23 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Pacers. They played without point guard George Hill because of a concussion and committed 19 turnovers…

George battled foul trouble and couldn’t contain Anthony quite as well as he had while the Pacers easily won the previous two games…

David West had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who were trying to reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2004…

The Knicks went back to their regular lineup, reinserting Pablo Prigioni, after going with a bigger group in Game 4 in a futile effort to match Indiana on the boards. The smaller group did a better job, getting outrebounded only 43-40.

– Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Golden State Warriors rookie forward Harrison Barnes needed six stitches to close a cut above his right eye after a hard fall in the second quarter of a playoff game against San Antonio on Thursday night.

Barnes fell hard to the court after leaping to contest a drive from Boris Diaw. After a few minutes on the ground, Barnes was led back to the locker room. Barnes got the stitches at halftime and returned to the court to a loud ovation just before the start of the third quarter.

– Reported by the Associated Press

The Grizzlies have won eight of their last nine playoffs games, and upended a pair of higher seeds along the way. They have blossomed in the NBA’s elite landscape like a weed, which is to say it’s been pretty darn difficult to get rid of a grit-and-grind team that’s bucking trends in the postseason.

The fifth-seeded Grizzlies’ path to the conference finals was rather remarkable. They lost two straight games to the fourth-place Los Angeles Clippers to start the opening round and then won four straight. Memphis dropped Game 1 against top-seeded Oklahoma City and won the next four contests to capture the West semifinals.

The Grizzlies began their playoff history in Memphis losing their first 12 games. This version of the Griz is 18-13 over the past three postseasons behind the commitment to a core group of Conley, Tony Allen, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph.

“It’s just confidence,” Randolph said. “It just continues to build and build, and guys continue to get better and better.”

– Reported by Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal