Josh Hart said he wasn’t bothered with ECF Game 1 benching (and we should believe him)

To do what the New York Knicks achieved in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals — pull off a historic 22-point fourth-quarter comeback seldom seen at this stage of the playoffs — you need to be free of ego. Your players need to be willing to sacrifice and put the team above themselves at all costs. (Oh, and the other team's coach needs to spontaneously combust in the clutch .

) No further questions asked. Knicks forward Josh Hart does not have this problem. As the Knicks staged their comeback in the fourth quarter and subsequent overtime stanza, Hart wasn't on the floor.

Since Hart is usually the guy opposing teams leave more open on offense so they can index their defense onto bigger threats, coach Mike Brown elected not to close with him. In a twist of fate, of course the Knicks proceeded to enjoy one of their best wins in franchise history. For less team-oriented guys concerned with getting "theirs," this would've been a problem.

For Hart? As he explained in a Wednesday press conference, the success of the team always comes above the individual to him. We've heard a lot of athletes say that over the years, but I think Hart is one of the few we should really believe: Josh Hart talks about not being on the floor to end last night's game: "That's always difficult, watching it on the bench.