Knicks top Jazz as Josh Hart notches second straight triple-double

Depth issues? What depth issues?

Over the course of what has been a heretofore agreeable 2024-25 season, the one question asked time and again about these Knicks has been about their depth.

Specifically, is there enough in order to contend for the franchise’s first NBA championship since 1973? And while that question will not be fully answered until this spring, the Knicks may have begun to advocate for themselves Wednesday night at the Garden.

All things considered, they’d rather have been at full strength on New Year’s Day for their 119-103 rout of the Jazz since the Knicks, who have won nine straight and are 24-10 overall, were shorthanded as Jalen Brunson (right calf tightness) and Miles McBride (left hamstring tightness) did not play.

“We got guys that can score the ball,” said Josh Hart, who recorded his second triple-double in as many games, the fourth of his season, and the 10th in his tenure with the Knicks by scoring 15 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and handing out 12 assists.

Only Hall of Famer Richie Guerin (16), Micheal Ray Richardson (18) and franchise icon Walt Frazier (23) are ahead of Hart on the Knicks’ all-time list for triple-doubles.

Hart was one of five Knicks to finish in double-figure scoring Wednesday night.

Karl-Anthony Towns recorded a double-double with 31 points and 21 rebounds. Mikal Bridges added 27. OG Anunoby had 22. Precious Achiuwa chipped in with 12 points in 13 minutes off the bench.

“It just shows the difference between last year and this year,” Hart said. “Last year, [if Brunson was] out, I’m not sure how that would have went. But with him out, Deuce, I’m not sure what the heck happened to Deuce [Wednesday night, but] we still got the depth of ’Kal, KAT, OG and those guys [who are] very good at scoring the ball.”

About one-half hour before the game tipped off, the Knicks announced Brunson would not play and would be replaced in the starting lineup by McBride. However, two minutes before the game began, a team spokesperson said Cam Payne would start. The spokesperson subsequently said McBride suffered “left hamstring tightness” during warmups and was questionable.

McBride is averaging 9.8 points in 24.5 minutes. He had played in 28 games, all in a reserve role.

While McBride serves an important role on the Knicks, the overriding concern is Brunson, who had played in each of the first 33 games of the season prior to the win over Utah (7-25).

“He has some soreness,” Tom Thibodeau said after the game.

Without his starting and reserve point guards, Thibodeau had Payne (eight points and eight assists), Landry Shamet (two points) and rookie Tyler Kolek (two points and four assists) receive time at point guard against the Jazz.

“Everybody just stays ready,” Payne said. “I feel like we got a pretty good bench and everybody is always working on their game. And when their time is called, everybody is ready.”

The Knicks, who never trailed after Achiuwa’s dunk 18 seconds into the second quarter, found themselves in something of a nip-and-tuck affair entering the fourth quarter.

But they used a 16-6 run over the first 5:15 of the quarter to swell their 87-79 lead into a 103-85 advantage. In the stretch, Towns had a dunk, Anunoby converted a layup, and Hart scored seven points.

Notes & quotes: Before the game, Thibodeau said Mitchell Robinson “hasn’t been cleared” to start full speed running but believes the center will receive clearance at some point this month . . . Hart expressed condolences to the city of New Orleans in the aftermath of the attack Wednesday morning. The FBI said a 42-year-old Army veteran drove a pickup truck into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street, killing 15. “People who don’t know New Orleans, it’s so vibrant. It’s lively,” Hart said. “People travel to go there, to get there to celebrate New Year’s, Mardi Gras, stuff like that. It’s just tragic. Bourbon Street is just a melting pot.”