The complete-game pitcher in baseball largely went by the wayside with Randy Johnson and Roy Halladay, but Josh Hart is bringing back the age of the workhorse in these NBA playoffs.
Hart was on the court for the entirety of the Knicks’ Game 1 win over the Pacers, the third time he went the distance in the team’s first seven postseason contests.
The do-it-all wing also logged 48 minutes in Game 2 against the 76ers, and he played all 53 minutes in the Knicks’ overtime loss in Game 5 of that series.
“I would say it’s because he saves it from not practicing. He competes during the games,” longtime teammate Jalen Brunson joked when asked where the 6-foot-4 Hart’s energy is derived. “So yeah, I don’t know, man.
“The dude’s crazy. It’s how he’s wired.”
Hart, who didn’t become a starter this season until Julius Randle suffered a shoulder injury in late January, had another stellar all-around game Monday night with 24 points — his career best in postseason play — plus 13 rebounds, eight assists and two steals.
“It felt good. You’re going to take the win every single time,” Hart said afterward. “I think it starts with [Tom Thibodeau]. Thibs is never satisfied.
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“I’m sure he’s going to probably watch the game film tonight, probably wake up at 6 and go to the facility and watch more film, get us ready [for Game 2] and us as a team, we continue to want more. We know at the end of the day it’s one win. We can’t get excited about one win. … But a win is a win.”
Thibodeau said he communicates with the 29-year-old Hart throughout the game to see if he needs even the smallest of breaks, but he said Hart came into this season “in great shape” after playing with Brunson on Team USA last summer at th FIBA World Cup.
“If he needs to come out, he’ll come out,” Thibodeau said. “Right now, we’re shorthanded. That gives us our best chance of winning. If that means we’ll cut back in practice, we’ll cut back in practice.
“But he’ll do a good job of getting himself ready, his recovery, and then out there, we find a way to win. If a guy has to play more minutes, he’ll play more minutes.”
