Call New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown the Wizard of Oz, as he gave fans the Hart on Monday night.
Josh Hart made a triumphant return to the Knicks’ starting lineup on Monday against the Brooklyn Nets, headlining a strong defensive performance in a 113-100 win. Hart failed to make headway in the quest to break his own Knicks record for most triple-doubles in a season, but flirted with the phenomenon by pairing 12 rebounds with seven assists and points each.
“I had to switch the routine I had pregame,” Hart joked in a postgame video from SNY. “Honestly, getting out there to start was fun. We got the win.”
The durable Hart made 77 starts for the Knicks last season before a mutual decision made him one of Manhattan’s top reserves during the Eastern Conference Finals. In familiar territory on Monday with OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson, and Landry Shamet all ailing, Hart helped the Knicks, who hold a 10-6 record, make up up for a soft effort on Saturday in Orlando, winning almost every physical aspect the visit to Atlantic Avenue usually has to offer.
Per James Edwards III of The Athletic, head coach Mike Brown made sure to spotlight the fact that Hart’s leadership duties have not taken a tumble on the depth chart, noting that the fourth-year Knick called out the anemic defensive effort that let a win in Central Florida go by the wayside. Hart’s personification of that mentality placed him in the construction vest the Knicks bestow on a win’s top defensive performer.
“That’s what leadership is about,” Brown said, per Edwards.
Hart will look to keep the momentum alive on Wednesday when the Knicks face the Charlotte Hornets (7 p.m. ET, MSG).
