NEW YORK (AP) — Josh Hart is the closest thing to a comedian on a New York Knicks team that's been all business in these NBA playoffs.
There was nothing to laugh about Thursday night early in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals, when Hart missed three 3-pointers to continue a postseason shooting slump. His frustration was evident as he slammed the ball down a few times, and he wondered why what he was doing in practice wasn't showing up in the games.
“I’m just like, bro, it’s not translating right now,” Hart said, once he finished chewing a slice from the box of pizza he carried to his postgame news conference.
His teammates — particularly the ones who were also his teammates at Villanova — knew eventually it would.
“I know we joke around a lot about his practice habits, but he does work hard,” Jalen Brunson said.
Hart broke out with five 3-pointers and scored a playoff career-high 26 points as the Knicks pulled away for a 109-93 victory over Cleveland to move two wins from their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999. He exited to a standing ovation, two nights after he was on the bench for nearly all of New York's comeback from a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
Even with everything he does for the Knicks, it was hard to keep Hart on the court at that time. The Cavaliers, like a number of NBA teams, view the forward's outside shooting as one of the weaknesses in a potent lineup headlined by All-Stars Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, and assign their center to cover him. He realizes he will have room to shoot from outside, because opponents want him to.
Knowing that, Hart worked extra hard on his shot fundamentals leading into Game 2.
“When you have guys that are gamers, they do stuff that people don’t think that they can do at any time,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “And he knows the work that he puts in, we know the work that he puts in, and his confidence is not going to waver. He's going to put pressure on himself to take that next one and make that next one.”
Hart was shooting only 26.7% behind the arc in the playoffs going into the game, so sagging off him is statistically a sound strategy — except Hart is not a player to be judged solely by the numbers.
“I’m never a huge analytics guy," Hart said. “At a certain point they’re a lamppost to a drunk person. You can lean on them, but it won’t get you home.”
As Towns, seated next to him at the podium, removed his sunglasses to stare at Hart in bemusement, Hart explained that the quote belonged to Jay Wright, his coach at Villanova.
Hart, a couple years older than Brunson and Mikal Bridges, was the scorer late in his career with the Wildcats. After they won the 2016 NCAA championship, he averaged a career-high 18.7 points and shot 40.4% behind the arc and was the Big East player of the year as a senior.
Brunson is the dominant scorer now, while Hart's value to the Knicks is for the many other things he does. He's taken a large role in the defending of Cavs All-Star Donovan Mitchell, and his defensive rebounding, while standing only 6-foot-4, allows the Knicks to push the ball up the court quickly in transition.
“He’s the perfect example for any basketball player who wants to learn how to truly impact the winning of a team and he does that at the highest level,” Towns said. “What he does not only talentwise but mentally for our team, when he goes out there, he’s hustling, he’s playing that hard, you feel like you’ve got to match his intensity.”
And on nights like Thursday, Hart can punish teams that dare him to shoot. Just like he did two years ago in the first round, when he made the series-clinching 3-pointer against Philadelphia in Game 6.
So Brunson, who had a playoff career-high 14 assists in Game 2, will keep looking for him.
“I mean, I’m really not trying to look for him. He just happens to be open, so I give him the ball,” Brunson said, with a smirk that resembled his sidekick. “I have the utmost confidence in him, watching the things he does and after practice with his routine and everything. He works hard.”
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