Josh Hart missed his first three 3-point attempts Thursday night, bounced the ball in frustration and looked visibly upset early in the New York Knicks’ 109-93 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks forward never stopped shooting.
Hart finished with a playoff career-high 26 points, hitting 5 of 11 from 3-point range while helping New York take a 2-0 series lead and extend its postseason winning streak to nine games.
After the game, Hart explained how he fought through the rough start.
“Those first three, they felt good,” Hart said during the joint postgame press conference with Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. “I was kind of frustrated with it because obviously I’ve been putting in the reps with Coach John and Peter Patton.”
Hart admitted the missed shots initially bothered him.
“I was frustrated at first,” he said. “I’m just like, damn, it’s not translating right now. And then I just, I know how to just keep shooting and if I did that, I’ll be good.”
The Cavaliers repeatedly helped off Hart defensively after he entered the game shooting 26.7% from 3-point range in the postseason. Cleveland’s strategy backfired once Hart settled in during the third quarter.
The Knicks used an 18-0 run to break open the game after Cleveland tied it early in the second half. Brunson started the burst with a 3-pointer, while Hart drilled back-to-back threes during the decisive stretch.
Brunson, who followed his 38-point Game 1 performance with 19 points and a playoff career-high 14 assists in Game 2, praised Hart’s response after the slow start.
“Just staying mentally tough,” Brunson said. “That’s the biggest thing and just keep trusting his game, trusting his work. And we’re super confident in him. We’re going to keep finding him and we know he’s going to make some shots.”
Hart also discussed the shooting work he has been doing behind the scenes with assistant coaches.
“It’s the reps and the consistency of those reps,” Hart said. “For me, it’s not like I got to go out there and make 500 threes, because if I go out and focus on making 500 threes, sometimes the mechanics slip.”
Instead, Hart said the focus has been on detail work.
“We’re doing smaller sample sizes of precise details and focusing on the fundamentals of my shot and perfecting that,” he said. “I think if I do that, I’ll be in a good position.”
The veteran forward also reflected on learning to avoid being overly critical of himself during games.
“I try to play with more joy but more grace,” Hart said. “I don’t really celebrate when I score or make a good pass and stuff like that and I kick myself probably a little bit too much when I miss shots or make turnovers.”
Hart added: “I started to learn to play the game and give myself more grace and not to try to be perfect.”
The Knicks showed offensive balance throughout the win. Towns finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Bridges added 19 points on 9-for-12 shooting.
New York is now two wins away from its first NBA Finals appearance since 1999, but the locker room is not looking ahead.
“It’s back to 0-0 in our minds,” Hart said. “We got to win the next game. It’s the most important game of the year and that’s how we treat it.”
Game 3 is scheduled for Saturday in Cleveland.
