PHILADELPHIA — Josh Hart essentially invoked the famous Bill Parcells credo that you are what your record says you are.
The Knicks’ do-it-all wing certainly wasn’t buying Joel Embiid’s claim that the Sixers are “the better team” and should have been up 2-0 entering Thursday’s Game 3 instead of the other way around.
“I don’t care. They’re not. We’re up 2-0,” Hart said dismissively at the Knicks’ morning shootaround at Temple. “When the NBA starts basing the series on what we think, then I’ll care a little bit more.”
The hobbled Embiid scored 34 points, but the Knicks overcame a five-point hole in a frantic final 27 seconds Monday night to steal Game 2 at the Garden.
The NBA acknowledged the following day that both Hart and Jalen Brunson should have been called for fouls on Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey ahead of Donte DiVincenzo’s 3-pointer that put the Knicks ahead with 13.0 seconds to go.
“We should be [up] 2-0. So we’re good. We’re going to win this series,” Embiid said afterward. “We’re going to win this. We know what we’ve got to fix. We did a better job today, so we’re going to fix it. But we’re the better team and we’re gonna keep fighting.”
The reigning league MVP was expected to be in the lineup despite being listed as questionable for Thursday’s game. He had played the previous two games after having that designation for both games in New York.
The Knicks won the first two with their best player, Brunson, misfiring with a .291 shooting percentage (16-for-55).
“If you look at our leader, I think Jalen is not as happy with his performance as he could be,” DiVincenzo said. “With that being said, we won two games two different ways.
“I could care less. We’re winning games. He’s playing well, other than making shots. His confidence doesn’t ever waver. So I’m not worried about it. I’m not stressed about it. I know he’s gonna bounce back one of these games. But what is encouraging, he’s making the right plays. He’s being aggressive. Nothing is changing about his game.”
The three former Villanova players were bemused by the hubbub in Philadelphia over their former NCAA-championship program’s social media account posting a congratulatory tweet about them following Game 2.
Hart had called the uproar “idiotic,” while Brunson quipped about his suburban alma mater, “In their eyes, we’re not a Philly school, but when we win, apparently we are a Philly school.”
Asked if he had anything to add, DiVincenzo said, “I had no idea. Josh told me about it [Wednesday]. It is what it is.”
