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After a 1-1 split at home, the New York Knicks head to Miami with confidence that they can beat the Heat and regain the homecourt advantage in their NBA Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Their confidence has merit.
They have been a better road team than at home this season. Their 24-17 road record was the league’s fifth-best. They have also won two on the road in the playoffs, including the series clincher against the Cavaliers in Cleveland in the opening round.
On the flip side, their 23-18 regular-season record at home is in the middle of the pack.
Josh Hart, who began his Knicks career as their most valuable player off the bench and is now a starter, cited two factors to their better performance on the road.
“I think when you go on the road, there are less distractions,” Hart told reporters following Thursday’s practice. “You’re not worried about family, tickets, what are you going to eat after the game. You have only basketball. So sometimes, you’re able to be locked in a little bit more.”
“And then we played for the Knicks. [The] Knicks fans, they show up wherever we play, Whether that’s in Oklahoma City or gotta be down to Miami at the end of the year. We’re having ‘Let’s go Knicks’ chants. You know what I mean? So I think it’s the camaraderie that we have been able to be locked into focus, and the next is the Knicks fanatics traveling and chilling out.”
The Knicks have split their two games in Miami this season, barely winning the first one on Julius Randle’s game-winning 3-pointer on March 3. Three weeks later, the Heat returned the favor with a 127-120 victory that saw Randle limping out with a left ankle injury that sidelined him for 17 days before the NBA Playoffs.
Jalen Brunson Praises Josh Hart
The Knicks camaraderie is embodied by former Villanova teammates Jalen Brunson and Hart.
The new Knicks starting backcourt combined for 20 points in the fourth quarter in Game 2 to rally their team to the much-needed victory.
Hart, who was left wide-open by the Heat’s zone defense all night long, finally made them pay in crunch time with two clutch 3-pointers.
His first 3-pointer tied the game ay 96-96. His second hit from deep gave the Knicks a 104-100 cushion with 1:38 left.
“I’m very confident,” Brunson told reporters after the game when asked about his confidence level in Hart taking those big shots down the stretch. “It’s who he is.”
“It’s in his DNA just making the right play the right time — whether it’s an offensive rebound, defensive rebound making my pass into lane or knocking on the big shot — it’s just who he is and so I have utmost confidence,” Brunson added.
Brunson finished with 30 points to pace the Knicks while Hart scattered 14 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
Josh Hart Duplicates Clyde Frazier’s 41-year Feat
Brunson finished with 30 points to pace the Knicks while Hart scattered 14 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
Hart missed a triple-double but nonetheless, he made history. The veteran guard became the first Knicks player to record 10+ points, 10+ rebounds, and 9+ assists performance in a postseason game since Walt Frazier in 1972, according to NBA History.
The Knicks improved to 22-10 since they acquired Hart from Portland at the trade deadline.
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