Getty New York Knicks wing Josh Hart celebrates a made basket.
It was another day, another solid effort from New York Knicks wing Josh Hart, who has yet to taste defeat since moving to the Big Apple. Playing in just his sixth game with the club on Monday, Hart scored 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting and added five rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Meanwhile, the Knicks pulled out what was undoubtedly one of their more impressive wins of the campaign, beating the No. 1 Boston Celtics, 109-94, at Madison Square Garden.
Although the Knicks got 23 points apiece from Julius Randle and Immanuel Quickley in the game — not to mention a double-double with two blocks and two steals from Mitchell Robinson — it’s hard not to focus on Hart given the dramatic turnaround since he arrived.
For his part, Quickley wanted to get to the bottom of the “Hart Effect” so badly that he grabbed an MSG Network microphone and inserted himself into the veteran’s postgame media availability in hilarious fashion.
Immanuel Quickley Asks Newest Knick, Josh Hart, the Hard-Hitting Questions
As seen in the video embedded above, Quickley decided to play the part of a reporter during MSG’s postgame coverage on Monday. In doing so, he leaned into the hype generated by Hart and the Knicks’ success since the baller has been with the team.
“What’s it like to be the reason why we’re 6-0?” Quickley asked his teammate. “Because you play so much defense, you play very hard on both ends of the floor, offensive rebound daggers. So, what goes into that on a daily basis?”
Ever the pro, Hart deflected and redirected the praise to several of his cohorts, including Quickley himself.
“[Jalen Brunson] and [Randle] going for 40, [RJ Barrett] over there hooping, [Robinson] blocking and rebounding, Quick coming off the bench and giving us 20. When they do that, it’s easy to win.”
At the least, the Knicks’ sudden climb to the No. 5 spot in the Eastern Conference — where they find themselves just 2.5 games behind the No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers — has made it look easy. And with a favorable schedule coming down the stretch, fans could be treated to more of the same heading into postseason play.
Knicks Make a Bit of February History
With their big win over the East-leading Beantowners, the Knicks didn’t just extend their current winning streak — they also finished up the month of February with an impressive 9-2 record. As relayed by Knicks PR, that’s the second-best record for the month in franchise history, trailing only the 1982-83 team, which went 10-2.
The Knicks’ starting lineup to close out that month: future Hall of Famers Bernard King, Len ‘Truck’ Robinson and Paul Westphal, as well as Trent Tucker and Bill Cartwright.
Current Knicks fans are no doubt hoping to see their club’s February flair serve as a springboard to playoff success. Alas, the ’82-83 Knicks ended up running into a buzzsaw during their playoff run.
After finishing the regular season with a 44-38 record, King and Co. swept the New Jersey Nets in the first round before getting swept by Moses Malone, Julius Erving and the eventual-NBA champion Philadelphia 76ers in the conference semifinals.