Dylan Backer
The New York Knicks are rolling at the right time. On Thursday, they secured another huge victory over the Boston Celtics in a back-and-forth thriller at Madison Square Garden 112-106 to keep their hopes of earning the second seed in the East alive.
Knicks’ Josh Hart erupts for big second half against Celtics
New York doesn’t win that tightly contested battle without the heroics of Josh Hart, who had an unreal second half capped off by a pair of clutch threes in the final minute to seal the victory for New York.
Hart finished with 26 points as the leading scorer, including 23 in the second half. He shot 10-for-15 from the floor and 5-for-7 from three, and was a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter.
“What a shot. The heartbreaker comes through,” Karl-Anthony Towns said, via SNY.
Hart’s performance in the second half was a complete 180 from his first half. He was silent offensively throughout the early stages of the game, and his lack of involvement usually hurts the Knicks’ spacing drastically.
Hart’s aggressive shooting will make a huge difference
With him being more aggressive in the second half, that opened up the door for Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns to run more pick-and-rolls. The usage of those two in the action opens up the floor significantly, and the offense was flowing as a result.
The Knicks dished 29 assists and only committed seven turnovers against Boston. Hart’s shooting has been a revelation this season, with him shooting a career-best 41.5% from three this season.
If they can get that out of Hart more often, their offense can be the most lethal and dynamic out of every team in the playoffs. His impact on the game cannot be understated when he is in a groove, and he showcased that against the Celtics.
New York has two games remaining in the regular season, with the Raptors on Friday and the Hornets on Sunday. Their magic number to secure a top three seed in the East is now 1.
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