Knicks' Josh Hart 'heated' by vanishing act in Game 5
Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) reacts after getting called for his fifth foul, during the second half of Game 4 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference playoff semifinal against the Miami Heat, Monday, May 8, 2023, in Miami. Credit: AP/Lynne Sladky
MIAMI — Josh Hart has been a key piece to the Knicks’ success since his arrival this season, and it carried into the postseason. But in Wednesday’s Game 5, as the Knicks scrapped for a win to stay alive, Hart played only nine minutes.
Saddled by foul trouble — three in the first quarter and another when he re-entered the game in the third quarter — he was cast aside and watched from the bench as Quentin Grimes, who had replaced him in the starting lineup for Games 4 and 5, played all 48 minutes.
“I was heated,” Hart said, but not at any coaching decision as much as his own troubles and the calls. “We won so I mean, obviously, I want to go out there and play 30, 40 minutes a game, but [I was] in foul trouble, QG was playing great. They didn’t need me to do that. I think it just shows the depth of the team even with [Immanuel Quickley] out.
“Definitely frustrating, trying to get a rhythm. But I mean, I can’t put too much into it. You know what I mean. Some of them were just unfortunate. In the wrong place at the wrong time. I don’t think too much into it. No point. That’s not a true indication of how I feel like I’m playing now.”
Hart had 11 points and seven rebounds and shot 5-for-10 in Game 6 on Friday night, but the Knicks were eliminated with a 96-92 loss to the Heat.
Hart wasn’t himself in this series. After playing 35 minutes per game against Cleveland in the first round, doing a solid job of defending Donovan Mitchell and averaging 11.6 points on 56.1% shooting, including 45.5% from three-point range, he has cratered against the Heat. He shot 39.5% overall and 23.5% from three-point range in the first five games.
“Big difference for me? Nothing, really,” he said. “Obviously, I haven’t been shooting the ball as well. But nothing is really different. Nothing really changed. Obviously, got to give them credit. They’re doing a great job in terms of scouting, making sure they limit my transition points and limit my damage off of the glass. This is a team that has guys that’s been to the Finals, guys that won championships. Coach has won several championships. So obviously they have that attention to detail and that focus that it takes to win games like this.”
In matters off the court, Hart had to choose whether to stay with his wife, Shannon, who gave birth to twin boys Friday, or be with the team. Hart rushed out of the locker room to get home to his wife afterward.
“Really happy for him,” Jalen Brunson said. “He’s going to be an unbelievable father. Obviously, don’t know what he’s going through, probably a great feeling. Tonight for him was a win-win situation. We win, we get another chance, and lose, he gets to go home and see his two beautiful boys. It’s a really amazing time for him. Really happy for him.”
Quickley out again
Quickley was sidelined for a third straight game with a sprained right ankle. The Knicks have called him day-to-day, but he has been listed as doubtful and ruled out without an on-court test each game . . . Grimes banged knees with Miami’s Bam Adebayo in the final minutes of Wednesday’s game and had a heating pad on his left knee before the game but said he was fine.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
