Teams keep leaving Knicks’ Josh Hart open — and he keeps knocking down threes
With the Boston Celtics focused on slowing down the duo of Jalen Brunson and Kart-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart repeatedly found himself open behind the arc — and the forward repeatedly knocked down shots. Josh Hart led all scorers with 26 points in Thursday’s 112-106 victory over the Celtics thanks to 5-of-7 shooting from downtown, including two daggers in the final 42. 9 seconds to thwart Boston’s comeback attempt.
“What a shot. What a shot. The Hartbreaker comes through,” Towns said postgame.
“The first one was special because he had a wide open one and turned down an open three and took a contested three and made that one. In true Josh Hart fashion. He felt good after the first one, shot the second one, made it.
He’s a special player. He does so much for our team that doesn’t show on the sheet but at any moment he can do those things and we trust him with the ball. ” A few of the treys were made with the Celtics way too slow to close out on the perimeter, which seemed like a questionable strategy for a player entering the matchup shooting a career 40.
6% from deep. The Celtics, though, were without Jaylen Brown (left achilles tendinitis) , the team’s two-way star known for lockdown defense. Joe Mazzulla did deploy Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Sam Hauser and Jordan Walsh — all players familiar with this Knicks roster and capable of defending the perimeter.