basketball

How Josh Hart's resilience jump-started the Knicks and pushed them two games from the NBA Finals

By Dan DevineYahoo Sports

The Cavs had a game plan for Hart and New York in Game 2. It didn't work.

NEW YORK — Josh Hart called his shot. And then, he made it. And then, he made another.

And another. And another. And another.

After struggling with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ defensive cross-matching in Game 1 — a game plan predicated on putting a center on him, sagging off him, and all but daring him to knock down shots in favor of gumming the interior works of the Knicks offense — Hart found himself a spectator down the stretch, watching from the sideline as coach Mike Brown went with Landry Shamet in a five-shooter lineup to try to get the New York Knicks out of the 22-point hole they’d dug. The move worked: Shamet’s insertion kickstarted a historic comeback for the Knicks. But while Hart preached approaching the game without ego and with extreme humility when asked about it during New York’s practice session between Games 1 and 2, he’s also an extremely proud professional — the type of guy not especially good at, or interested in, taking disrespect lying down.

Play 2026 Soccer Pick 'Em with FOX One and make your picks for the world's biggest soccer tournament “They’re probably going to do the same exact thing,” Hart said of the Cavs’ game plan heading into Game 2. “And I’m going to shoot the same exact shots. I’m going to shoot them with confidence.

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