A Knicks fan on X wrote to Josh Hart earlier within the week that he wasn’t going to put up once more till the Knicks guard scored 30 factors.
Hart responded: “That ain’t my job brother. See you on the other side.”
He added a clenched fist and a laughing emoji.
Hart was proper. His job isn’t to attain quite a lot of factors.
It’s to assist shut out a recreation — as he did on Christmas.
Hart’s two offensive rebounds within the last 17.1 seconds completed off the Spurs and despatched the Knicks to a hard-fought 117-114 win on the Backyard on Wednesday.
“Plays like that, that’s my job,” Hart stated with amusing in recalling the interplay on social media.
It was the standard all-out effort efficiency from Hart.
In 38 minutes, he did a bit little bit of the whole lot: 12 factors, 12 rebounds, six assists and two steals.
He shot 4-for-8 from the sphere, together with a giant 3-pointer in the course of the Knicks’ game-turning 23-9 run within the fourth quarter.
His greatest contribution got here on that last possession.
The Knicks held a three-point lead. Hart obtained to the rebound of a Jalen Brunson miss with 17.1 seconds to go.
Nonetheless, the Spurs had an opportunity to get even when they might get one other cease.
However there was Hart once more after OG Anunoby missed a 3-pointer.
The clock ran out.
“Just go out there and try to make a play,” Hart recalled. “That possession is the definition of my job and why I’m here: To make those energy, extra-effort plays.”
Hart is having fun with one other robust season doing the little issues.
He’s averaging 14.0 factors, 8.0 rebounds and 5.4 assists.
On Christmas, he was the Knicks’ nearer due to his hustle.
“Just motor, man. He’s just always active, and that activity allows him to get some really good rebounds,” Karl-Anthony Cities stated. “Shout-out to Josh. Man, those are big rebounds.”
