Just looking at the boxscore, Josh Hart’s numbers don’t particularly jump out at you.
But his impact was pivotal to the Knicks tying up their first-round series with the Hawks.
The Knicks came out with a sense of urgency and desperation on the defensive end in their 114-98 Game 4 win Saturday night at State Farm Arena. Hart was at the heart of it.
“Josh was really good on the ball,” coach Mike Brown said. “Josh is a guy with quick feet, he’s strong and when he gets locked in, he’s locked in. His defensive activity, especially when he [pressures the ball], was fabulous [Saturday night]. Really, really good. And we needed all of it.”
The Knicks held the Hawks to just 41.0 percent shooting from the field and 24.4 percent shooting from 3-point range. Atlanta committed 19 turnovers, which the Knicks converted into 21 points.
“I’ve been trying to do that every game this series, trying to be physical with those guys, take that challenge upon myself,” Hart said. “Don’t think there was anything different today. Trying to do what I’ve been doing. I haven’t been making shots. So I’ve got to make sure I find a way to be impactful.”
Hart spent almost equal time guarding Jalen Johnson and CJ McCollum on Saturday and was effective on both. The Knicks seemed to find an answer to slow down McCollum in Game 3, when they had Hart guard him in the second half. But in Game 4, it was more of a rotating responsibility.
They’ve been using Hart as a Swiss Army knife on defense, moving him to where they need him most at the moment.
“We just wanted to move Josh around,” Brown said. “Josh, his ball pressure is good. He’s strong, he’s got pretty good feet, he’s got long arms and he locks into the ball, so he’s able to get some deflections without fouling because of his long arms. CJ is a handful, so we just gotta keep finding ways to show him different looks, which means different guys gotta guard him at different times.”
Not only that, his effort on the defensive end is contagious. His physicality on the perimeter and willingness to pressure ball handlers set an early tone for the Knicks as a whole.
The Knicks defense has been inconsistent since the playoffs started. Too often, their perimeter defenders — particularly Jalen Brunson — are getting beat off the dribble way too easily and forcing the defense to collapse.
Hart has been their best defender throughout the series. And he sparked the best overall Knicks defensive showing on Saturday.
“He does what’s asked of him 9.5 times out of 10,” Brunson said. “You can joke around, say all the things I say about him, but the one thing he’s going to do is go out there and compete. And he’ll do that night in and night out.”
Beyond being contagious, Hart’s perimeter defense has a domino effect on the rest of the defense.
“It makes it easier, because it gives me more time to rotate toward the rim and then also make a read on if the ball handler is gonna pick up his dribble or if he’s going to the rim full speed, because Josh is pressuring him,” OG Anunoby said. “So it just makes it easier what to do. He’s doing an amazing job being physical, getting into the ball. He’s beating guys up. And that’s what he does.”
The young, athletic Hawks like to play fast and score in transition. That’s hurt the Knicks at times this series, particularly during their late collapse in Game 3.
In Game 4, though, the Hawks had just seven fast-break points. That number was zero well into the fourth quarter — they all came in garbage time when the game was decided.
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What allowed them to be so effective in that area?
“The players in that locker room,” Brown said. “We didn’t change anything in transition. Our rules are still the same. We just got back.”
The Knicks in Game 4 played like a team that understood it was playing for its life. This was most evident on the defensive end.
Hart was the catalyst.
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