Knicks' Josh Hart draws All-Star treatment from Pacers, but still comes through with stellar Game 2
Knicks’ Josh Hart driving against the defense of the Indiana Pacers' Tyrese Halliburton during Game 2 at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Josh Hart grabbed a rebound in the third quarter in Game 2 Wednesday night and quickly made his way upcourt. He dribbled behind his back and stopped as the Pacers had multiple bodies waiting in front of him.
Hart, however, found Knicks teammate Donte DiVincenzo with a no-look bounce pass for a layup. It was the type of play the Pacers hoped to limit after Game 1 when Hart burned them often in transition.
Despite five turnovers, Hart again was a major factor in the Knicks’ 130-121 win to go up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals. He finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists at Madison Square Garden.
As much the Pacers want to limit Jalen Brunson, countering Hart is now another problem. With his ability to get up-court quickly off missed rebounds, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle compared Hart to a pair of all-stars for his “fearless velocity”.
“When he gets a defensive rebound, he’s great at just taking it and knifing his way full-court to the basket,” Carlisle said. “He’s a guy we gotta treat like Giannis [Antetokounmpo] and [Damian] Lillard and guys like that, that are full-court, high-speed attackers.”
Hart’s do-it-all, no-rest attitude has been more evident in the playoffs. He played all 48 minutes for the second consecutive game and is averaging NBA-best 46.8 minutes per game this postseason.
While Brunson creates problems with his strength, footwork and scoring ability, Hart does so on speed, rebounding and instinct. He’s third in the postseason averaging 12.8 rebounds and has at least 13 rebounds in six of eight playoff games.
“He’s full effort for 48 minutes,” forward Aaron Nesmith said. “We gotta find where he’s at. We gotta be able to box him out. We gotta keep him out of transition. We just gotta do a better job on him as a whole.”
For the Pacers, who like to play fast, one plan is use Hart’s energy against him to wear him down. It didn’t work Wednesday night as Hart still made plays in the fourth quarter with an assist for a DiVincenzo three-pointer that put the Knicks up nine with 1:33 left.
“We just got to match [his energy] and I think that’s the biggest thing,” guard Tyrese Haliburton said. “Obviously, you've got to rebound and he’s probably one of the best rebounding wings in the league, if not the best rebounding wing in the league.”
The 76ers learned the hard way last series trying to handle Hart along with Brunson. Brunson got his shots in the six-game victory and Hart averaged a double-double (16.8 points, 12.3 rebounds) while shooting 43.2% on threes.
Now its the Pacers’ turn with the series going to Indianapolis for Game 3 on Friday night. By treating Hart like an All-Star, it shows their respect for his impact moving forward.
“He’s a dog,” said forward Obi Toppin, who played with Hart on the Knicks last season. “He does everything he needs to do for that team. But what we need to do is lock into everything Coach has been telling us what to do to stop those guys who are impacting the game.”
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
