The Knicks offense was humming and Josh Hart was generally everywhere.
On Saturday night, his team bludgeoned the Kings with buckets for a 143-120 victory, with Hart carrying the energy, carrying the battle on the boards, and filling in every gap in the box score.
Hart, whose game time was ruled out due to knee soreness (he did not watch all of the pregame as the DNP was under consideration), had 20 points and 18 rebounds for his sixth triple-double of the season. , finished with 11 assists.
On January 25, 2025, the Knicks defeated the Kings 143-120. Robert Szabo of the New York Post
He was a shy shy man who valued his career highly.
Hart was joined in the offensive dominance by Jalen Brunson, who scored 25 points with 11 assists, whose 33 points were his most since November, and Mikal Bridges, who added 27 points on 15 shooting with seven assists. .
The only disappointment was Karl-Anthony Towns. He is dealing with a sprained thumb and is clearly not comfortable shooting treys.
He went 0-for-1 from beyond the arc and remained 1-for-10 since returning from injury.
The center finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds.
Defeat the king. Robert Szabo of the New York Post
But the Knicks didn't need efficiency from Town on Saturday night. There was no way his teammates could burn or avoid the pace of Wang (23-22).
If Sacramento's goal was to gas the Knicks, the strategy failed from tipoff.
The Knicks (30-16), winners of three straight, had the advantage of three days off between games and flexed that energy early.
on the king. Robert Szabo of the New York Post
Behind some polished ball movement and hot shooting from replacement Landry Shamet (he nailed three treys early), they led 38-25 in the first quarter.
“Obviously it's a little unusual to have three days off, so the challenge is to get recovery time and combine that with practice time,” Thibodeau said of the break following Tuesday's Nets win. “But no matter what you actually do, you're never going to reach the intensity level of your game. So you have to make sure that when you get that break you come back with that edge.”
The Knicks' only disappointment came in the second quarter, when a 19-point lead was reduced to one.
Victory felt assured for most of the second half.
Even the long delays of the supposed bent rims could not derail them.
Following a 10 minute investigation that included a MSG worker with a ladder and level line tool, the rim was determined to be straight.
