Josh Hart entered his name into Knicks playoff lore Friday night.
The gritty guard became the first Knick since Walt Clyde Frazier in 1972 to notch a triple-double in the postseason.
Sporting a black eye from an elbow he took to the face in the previous game, Hart had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists along with a plus-24 rating in 33 impactful minutes in the Eastern Conference semifinal series-clinching Game 6 victory.
“That’s who he is. He impacts the game in a lot of different ways,” coach Tom Thibodeau said after the 119-81 pasting of the Celtics. “Sometimes people get stuck on, ‘Well, he didn’t shoot the ball, or he didn’t do this.’
“Well, what he is is a basketball player, so it’s transition. It’s the pace. It’s playing out of pocket. It’s making corner 3s. It’s doing all the dribble-handoff, hustle plays, offensive rebounds. And then, defensively being everywhere and coming up with big rebounds. I think when you play with that kind of effort, it’s inspiring to the team.”
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Hart enjoyed a huge series against the Celtics, averaging 14.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists while shooting 37.9 percent from 3-point range.
On Friday, he became the third Knick to post a postseason triple-double, along with Frazier (four times) and Dick McGuire.
The 27-point halftime lead marked the biggest in a postseason game in franchise history.
The Knicks also led by 27 points against the Lakers in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals.
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The Knicks improved to 6-0 this postseason when OG Anunoby scores 20 or more points. … Listed as questionable entering the game with a sprained right ankle, Precious Achiuwa logged nine minutes and scored six points along with three rebounds.
The Celtics switched up their starting lineup for the second straight game in the wake of Jayson Tatum’s absence.
Luke Kornet replaced Kristaps Porzingis, but he didn’t have nearly the same impact as he did in Game 5.
Kornet was held to five points, five rebounds and a block in 21 minutes.
