Josh Hart has been one of the best players for the New York Knicks these playoffs. In Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, Hart only had three points, but he still had significant help to give the Knicks a 105-95 win.
Hart was only 1-for-5 from the field and had trouble scoring. Despite his offensive struggles, the Knicks forward found other ways to contribute. The former Villanova star had 15 rebounds, six assists, four steals and a block. His final stats in the box score rivaled NBA legend Larry Bird, who had 25 points, 15 rebounds, 11 assists and four steals in Game 3 of the 1986 Finals.
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Hart is the first player to finish a game with 15+ rebounds, 6+ assists and 4+ steals.
After the game, Knicks fans raved about Josh Hart’s performance on X. Here are some of what the fans said about Hart.
“A bonafide pest. He showed some of those spurs guards that there are levels to being a pest😂” a fan said.
“As clutch as Brunson was, THIS man was the clear and obvious MVP. Those rebounds were BACKBREAKING. The Spurs have nobody like him. He is one of one,” another fan commented.
“His scrapiness was awesome,” one fan said.
“Got every 50/50 ball late in the 4th, huge contributions tonight,” someone commented.
“Best utility guy in the NBA. Excellent role player,” a comment read.
“pest mode all game and it worked,” one fan commented.
After the game, he received high praise from Knicks star Jalen Brunson.
While Josh Hart did most of the dirty work for the Knicks, it was Jalen Brunson who carried the team offensively. He led New York with 30 points on a poor 12-for-31 shooting from the field. However, Brunson still gave credit to the work that Hart did for the team and had high praise for his close friend during his postgame interview.
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The three-time All-Star was asked about his thoughts on Hart making a massive impact in the game despite having an off-night shooting the basketball.
“That’s just who he is,” Brunson said. “He’s always been that way. I can’t explain — he just has a knack for doing things like that in crucial times, as well. It’s a credit to who he is as a player.”
