On the same night when Josh Hart became the franchise leader in single-season triple-doubles, he and Karl-Anthony Towns became the first New York Knicks teammates to share the feat in the same game.
The Knicks routed the Mavericks, 128-113, splitting the season series between the teams at one game apiece.
“Just blessings, man. We’ve got a great group of guys. To do it here, as a Knick at MSG … It’s just a blessing,” Hart said. “And to do it in front of these fans, man, it’s just great.”
Hart’s ninth triple-double of the season saw him surpass New York legend Walt “Clyde” Frazier on the Knicks’ single-season leaderboard, a record originally set in the 1968-69 season.
Hart now has 15 triple-doubles in his NBA career, all with the Knicks, and all within the last 13 months. He ranks fourth on the Knicks’ career triple-double list, still behind Frazier (23), Micheal Ray Richardson (18), and Richie Guerin (16).
“To be in the same sentence or be tied into a record like that, it’s nothing but a blessing from God,” Hart said. “When I step away from this game, I’m not going to be really in that many record books, and I’m fine with that … but it’s just a blessing from Him and my teammates.”
Hart finished the game with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists on 6-9 FG, 2-2 3PT, and 2-2 FT in 33 minutes. He was given the game ball for his record-breaking night but said he was going to give it to Knicks rookie Kevin McCullar Jr., who had also tallied his first NBA points on the night.
“That record is cool and a blessing, but it’s gonna get broken at some point. Getting your first NBA points, no one is going to take that away from you,” Hart said.
Karl-Anthony Towns’ triple-double marked both his first of the season and his Knicks career. He also became the first Knicks center to have one since David Lee in 2010 (Lee played 95% of his minutes at center that season).
“He’s got nine, I got one, so he’s doing a much better job than me at getting triple-doubles,” Towns said jokingly. “The way he does it is special. It’s all energy, it’s effort, and it’s for the betterment of the team.”
“I’m just happy that Josh gets stats on the sheet that show the impact he’s making on the game. There’s much more stats that don’t show up on the stat sheet that he does for our team.”
Towns finished his night with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists on 10-19 FG, 2-7 3PT, and 4-8 FT in 34 minutes.
