Getty Josh Hart and Isaiah Hartenstein of the New York Knicks celebrate after Hart drew the foul in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
After having dropped Game 2, the New York Knicks have rattled off two straight wins, with Sunday’s Game 4 victory giving the club a 3-1 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in this best-of-seven quarterfinals matchup.
Tom Thibodeau’s squad put on an absolute clinic in front of a packed home crowd at Madison Square Garden for the crucial contest, and the energy was seemingly captivating.
Following the win, veteran wing Josh Hart headed to social media to show his admiration and love to the Knicks fans that were in attendance on the day and for the Meca.
“I love The Garden 🧡💙,” wrote Josh Hart via Twitter.
Josh Hart was called upon for a last-second spot start to fill in for the injured Quentin Grimes.
Marking as his second appearance in the first five lineup as a member of the Knicks, the 28-year-old went on to finish his night off with a stellar all-around stat line of 19 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.
With this win, New York will be heading on the road once again for a Game 5 in Cleveland where they have the opportunity to claim win number four and, in turn, punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
RJ Barrett Credits Knicks Fans Following Game 4 Win
Josh Hart wasn’t the only Knicks player to shout out the franchise’s loyal followers for their energy in Game 4, as RJ Barrett heaped praise upon the fanbase during his post-game media session.
“It’s been amazing. It’s been helping, it’s been helping a lot. Especially when we are going on those runs, it helps us even more. The crowd, they just help us get back in the game. They really threw a crazy punch there in the third so the fans and everybody have been helping a lot,” RJ Barrett said regarding Knicks fans in attendance at MSG this postseason.
RJ Barrett credits the fans and the noise they bring to Madison Square Garden for the teams success so far:
“Especially when we are going on those runs, it helps us even more. The crowd, they just help us get back in the game. They really threw a crazy punch there in the 3rd”
After having a rather underwhelming start to his 2023 postseason, RJ Barrett had himself a day in Game 4, as he finished off with a whopping 26 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block all while shooting 50.0% from the field.
Over his last two outings in front of a highly energized MSG crowd, the fourth-year pro has posted 22.5 points and 5 rebounds whilst shooting 56.6% from the field.
Jalen Brunson Praises RJ Barrett Following Knicks Win
While Game 4 proved to be a full-on team effort, Knicks guard Jalen Brunson couldn’t help but talk up RJ Barrett for his performance on the day. During an on-court post-game interview, the 26-year-old sounded off on his teammate’s efforts, calling his play on Sunday “unreal.”
“It’s unreal,” Brunson said. “I said before that in basketball, sometimes it doesn’t go your way, but his demeanor and mindset never changed, and it showed in the past couple of games.”
“It’s unreal…His mindset, it never changes”
— Jalen Brunson (29 points) on RJ Barrett (26 points) as the Knicks go up 3-1
Though he was all complimentary when talking about Barrett’s play, Jalen Brunson went on to lead all scores on the night with 29 points which makes him the first Knicks player since Carmelo Anthony to drop 20+ points in 3 consecutive playoff games.
Along with his scoring production, the point guard would also go on to collect 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block in just shy of 43 minutes of action.