Josh Hart pumped life into Knicks as they rallied to win Game 1 in Boston
Josh Hart of the New York Knicks reacts against the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at TD Garden on Monday. Credit: Getty Images
BOSTON — Sometimes before the heroics, before Jalen Brunson’s late-game clutch shooting, before OG Anunoby’s defensive stops and long before Mikal Bridges ripped the ball from Jaylen Brown to seal a stunning Knicks overtime win at TD Garden Monday, they needed someone who just does the dirty work.
It was, as it often is, Josh Hart. He saw the team in a 20-point hole in the third quarter, saw the leprechaun leading cheers around the parquet floor and decided he’d seen enough of the Knicks getting kicked around.
So he suddenly began to play with a ferocity, a level even above his usual breakneck pace. Hart grabbed rebounds over players taller than him and started one-man fast breaks and suddenly what was a 20-point deficit was down to 11, then nine, and all of his teammates were along for the ride. And when it finally stopped, the Knicks had taken Game 1 and turned the Eastern Conference semifinals series on its head.
“Yeah, I was playing angry,” Hart said. “I think for me it’s always how can I find a way to spark this team, whether that’s knocking down a shot, making a defensive play, a rebound, pushing in transition, getting an offensive rebound for an extra shot.
“That’s just kind of what I’m trying to find throughout the game, especially when you go down by double digits, you go down by 20. You’re just trying to find something to spark that team. That’s my job, just kind of run around like a madman and inspire these guys and get them going. I just try to find plays where that can happen. Obviously it’s a little bit easier when you’re down 20 to find those plays because they’re all over the place. That’s just kind of my role and I embrace that.”
Hart has embraced it, but so have his teammates and his coach. And why not? He filled up the boxscore with 14 points and 11 rebounds on this night, but it’s not the numbers that matter. The Knicks spent huge money and assets to acquire the other four starters and sometimes Hart seems like an afterthought.
But he knows his role and so do his teammates. The Celtics could tell you after their three-point shooting woes that shots come and go. But effort can be every game, every minute, and for the Knicks, having Hart deliver it when things seemed lost Monday provided the boost they needed.
“I mean, that’s just who he is,” Brunson said. “He’s going to find a way to run around and do things. The way he brings that energy night in and night out it’s just contagious. When he does that he helps us to be a better team. We feed off that energy and it propels us to come back from down 20.”
The day after the overtime win the Knicks stayed off the floor Tuesday, opting for film work at the hotel rather than practice time. They rested after Hart played 45 minutes even with early foul trouble, Bridges played 51 minutes, Anunoby played 46 and Brunson 44.
It certainly wasn’t just the fire from Hart that got the Knicks back in the game Monday and it’s not what they can rely on if they hope to build on that win Wednesday night in Game 2. Hart, along with Anunoby and Bridges, provide the Knicks with a versatile trio of defenders who can switch on almost any player and with Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns holding their own on those switches, the Knicks were able to limit the Boston offense — not the attempts, as the Celtics put up an astounding 60 beyond the arc, but they converted only 15.
“I don’t think we played our best basketball,” Hart said. “We got outrebounded by 10. We gave up 24 second-chance points, we gave up some easy fast-break dunks that we shouldn’t have. But also when a team isn’t playing well it’s, 'why are they not playing well?' Is it because they are just off that day or is it because the defense or the other team is playing well and forcing them into playing that kind of style?
“So that’s a twofold question because we could say the same thing in Detroit. It was six games and I don’t think we played our best game in any one of those. But we’ve got to give Detroit credit because Detroit didn’t allow us to play our best game. Fortunately for us, we were able to win that series without playing our best game in any game of that whole series.
"Obviously they had some shots that they didn’t make that’s makeable shots for them. I feel like we executed our game plan, we played with physicality, with energy. We flew around. We had times in there where we were disruptive.”
If there is anything Hart knows, it's being disruptive.
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.
