Knicks vs. Hawks in the NBA Cup quarterfinals? It just means more

There was little doubt, despite being listed as questionable for the game and then pushed to a game-time decision that Josh Hart was going to suit up for Wednesday night’s game against the Atlanta Hawks.

It’s rare that Hart misses a game of any kind, but this one — a watch was on the line.

Hart had been joking for weeks — actually since last season — that any proceeds toward the winnings of the NBA Cup would go toward shopping for a new high-line watch. While players on the back end of the roster were counting on it to double their salary with this bonus, there was little doubt that the Cup quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden Wednesday carried something extra, just as the league offices hoped when it was started last season.

“I think there’s money involved,” Jalen Brunson said Monday. “So I think there’s a lot of motivation regardless.”

But for the Knicks, who have loftier goals than the in-season tournament, the game meant exactly what every game means — a step toward becoming the best they can be in the postseason. So Hart was cleared to play shortly before game-time, as was Karl-Anthony Towns, giving the Knicks all eight players in their rotation available.

“Every game counts the same,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “That’s the way we approach it. So, going into the game, stick with your routine, don’t get sidetracked with the hoopla. It’s great for the fans. But understand what goes into winning.”

Facing the Hawks,  there were all sorts of motivations. The Hawks had already beaten the Knicks in Atlanta this season when rookie Zaccharie Risacher exploded for a season-high 33 points (he hasn’t reached more than 18 in any other game). Dyson Daniels roughed up Brunson, using his size, and physicality to try to get the Knicks star off his game (a common practice now, and rarely successful).

And of course, there was Trae Young and the memories of what he’d done to them in the 2021 playoffs, sending the Knicks home in five games and making the Garden his own playground.

But, other than the coaching staff, there were no ties to that playoff series left for the Knicks. The only player still on the rosterfrom that series is Mitchell Robinson, who has been sidelined all season and still has no return date in place.

“That’s sort of the nature of the league,” Thibodeau said. “Constant change, and it’s how quickly can you adapt? Whether it could be injury, could be trade, could be free agency. There’s so many different variables that come into it.

“Even sometimes, you can come back with the same team and you won’t play the same way. That’s the challenge every year - you start from zero, start over, and get everyone onto the same page and figure out, what are the strengths of the club? Play to your strengths and cover up your weaknesses." 

The Hawks also considered the importance of this game. Head coach Quin Snyder wasn’t around when the two teams clashed in the playoffs, but he knew the history and what even an in-season tournament victory could mean for his young team built around Young.

Young, Jalen Johnson, Bogdan Bogdanovic and De’Andre Hunter were all on the injury report, but cleared to play shortly before game time.

“One of the big things for us is that we really are moving forward," Snyder said. "It’s okay if Trae takes a little of that with him. I think Trae’s challenge this year is kind of metaphoric, to maintain and continue to do a lot of things that made him the player he is, but also to evolve.

“In ways, he’s on a different team with a different style of play. I think it speaks to his confidence and his mindset and his belief in himself that he’s capable of [going off]. Tonight, it may present itself in situations, but there’s a bigger picture going on, as well as more subtle things that he’s really embraced. That’s not to diminish in any way what he did here. … I wasn’t here, but he certainly had some special games.”

Notes & Quotes: Ariel Hukporti played with the Westchester Knicks G League squad in the morning, but suffered a sprained right ankle and was unavailable for Wednesday’s game. “We'll know more tomorrow,” Thibodeau said. “Day-to-day is what I'm being told.”

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.