Josh Hart Struggles in Playoff Game Against Hawks
ATLANTA — Josh Hart faced a tough outing in the playoffs, particularly when it came to scoring, at a crucial moment for the Knicks.
He had been a steady contributor in the first two games, and his 3-point shooting was expected to be valuable as it was earlier against the Celtics. However, in Game 3, with fellow starter Mikal Bridges absent and without any points, Hart managed just two points in the Knicks’ narrow 109-108 defeat to the Hawks on Thursday.
Hart’s shooting was off, finishing 1-for-9 at State Farm Arena and unable to connect on any of his four attempts from beyond the arc. Even so, he contributed with nine rebounds and six assists, along with solid defense against CJ McCollum, who stepped in during the second half. Nevertheless, the Knicks found themselves overly dependent on Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and OG Anunoby when their scoring efforts dwindled.
“So, yeah, they just didn’t go,” Hart reflected. “I have to make it.”
This problem persisted for Hart throughout the first round. He only made one 3-pointer on Thursday, despite having achieved a career-best 41.3 percent shooting from long range during the regular season.
He experienced a critical turnover late in the first quarter, unintentionally dribbling the ball off his foot and out of bounds, which resulted in his sole basket coming with 7 minutes and 35 seconds left in the game after a pass from Towns.
Looking for some silver lining, there was a moment of optimism when Mike Brown replaced Hart with McCollum at the start of the second half. Hart managed to effectively limit McCollum’s impact, who had scored 32 points in Game 1 and 16 in the first half of Thursday’s match.
“I just tried to give him a tough situation,” Hart explained. “That was the biggest thing. Just try to make it tough for him and force him to make tough shots.”
However, the team’s struggles on offense, particularly regarding 3-point shooting, quickly became a concern. Hart acknowledged this, saying, “I feel like I hit a good shot. We didn’t defeat them.”
