The New York Knicks lost their second consecutive game Thursday to the Sacramento Kings, but not all was bad for New York as backup guard Josh Hart put on a show to help lead the late surge.
Helping the Knicks overcome a 21-point deficit, Hart scored nine points on 3-4 shooting, snagged 15 rebounds (eight offensive), dished seven assists, and recorded three steals in 32 minutes off the bench Thursday night.
Despite the Knicks’ comeback falling short, Hart was all over the floor and further proved the massive impact he has provided since coming over at the trade deadline.
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Josh Hart brought fierce hustle and energy for the Knicks:
On a night where the Knicks looked lethargic on both sides of the ball, Hart was the total opposite of that. He was very aggressive on defense and put tons of pressure on Sacramento’s ball handlers.
Hart was also flying in for rebounds both offensively and defensively, which helped give the Knicks plenty of second-chance opportunities to help cut the deficit.
The Knicks had a 58-42 rebounding advantage over the Kings Thursday night, including a staggering 23-6 offensive rebounding advantage.
Offensively, Hart only shot the ball four times, but he helped push the pace and jumpstart fastbreaks to help the Knicks get into a rhythm when they desperately needed to. Hart would finish with seven assists, his most as a Knick.
Despite this, their late comeback fell just short, as the Knicks struggled to cash in those second-chance opportunities and shot just 13-50 (26%) from outside the arc and 42-101 (41.6%) from the field.
The Knicks suffered two losses in one night Thursday, as Hart’s Villanova teammate Jalen Brunson exited the game after the first half due to a sore left foot that had already kept him out the previous two contests.
The Knicks may need guys like Hart and RJ Barrett to continue to step up in the event that Brunson has to miss more games, but it is nevertheless encouraging to see Hart’s impact be shown in full force in any circumstance.
New York will look to snap out of their losing slide when they head to Los Angeles to take on the Clippers on Saturday.
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