“We’ll take it.”
That was Josh Hart summing up the Knicks road trip to reporters late Tuesday night, right after they dispatched of the Blazers with a dominating fourth quarter.
Following four games on the West Coast without Jalen Brunson (who technically played a half in Sacramento), the Knicks (41-31) finished 2-2 and reclaimed the fifth spot in the East from the plucky Nets.
“When you don’t have one of your best players, some teams just crumble,” Hart said. “They go on a losing streak. So to finish the road trip .500, we’ll take it.”
“We’ll take it.”
That was Josh Hart summing up the Knicks road trip to reporters late Tuesday night, right after they dispatched of the Blazers with a dominating fourth quarter.
Following four games on the West Coast without Jalen Brunson (who technically played a half in Sacramento), the Knicks (41-31) finished 2-2 and reclaimed the fifth spot in the East from the plucky Nets.
“When you don’t have one of your best players, some teams just crumble,” Hart said. “They go on a losing streak. So to finish the road trip .500, we’ll take it.”
Hart was also part of a bench crew that pulverized Portland, especially in the fourth quarter. He filled the stat sheet in 37 minutes with 16 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and three steals.
In some ways, the performance was vindication for the Knicks and their trade deadline deal. Hart severely outplayed Portland’s Cam Reddish, who scored just two points on 1-of-6 shooting in 19 minutes.
Reddish and Hart were swapped last month and were thriving individually ahead of the matchup. Reddish, who had been parked on Tom Thibodeau’s bench while with the Knicks, told the Daily News that his DNPs in New York were the result of “favoritism” and “politics.”
But he exacted no revenge Tuesday, instead absorbing a defeat that included the Blazers being outscored by 27 points with Reddish on the court.
The Knicks, meanwhile, outscored the Blazers by 26 points when Hart played. The 28-year-old Hart, a member of the 2017 draft class, is gearing up for the first playoff series of his career.
“I’m in a new position here where I’m sitting here and we’re really playing for something,” Hart said. “I haven’t really been in that position in my career. I think that’s making me more hungry and the rest ofthe guys in the locker room.”
He’ll take it.