The New York Knicks took Game 4 of the series against the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Despite now sitting on a comfortable 3-1 lead, the Knicks had their work cut out for them in their last game. Josh Hart spoke to the media about his slow performance in Game 4 of the series while praising his All-Star teammate, Jalen Brunson’s 47-point outing.
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The Knicks forward did not have the best outing in the fourth contest of this seven-game series against the 76ers. Although the Knicks came out on top in the end, Hart wasn’t too pleased with his performance and talked about his inability to help Jalen Brunson on the offensive end of the floor.
“We needed it… as starting small forward, power forward, whatever the hell I am, ain’t make a shot, I was like Shaq at the free throw line, so we needed it. He did great offensively, aggressive, and I thought we needed some of that and we got it. Now, we gotta continue to do it off that, Game 5, and keep moving forward.”
Jalen Brunson went off for 47 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds, and 1 block for the game [per NBA.com]. He did this while shooting 18-34 from the field, putting the Knicks on his back to win Game 4. Josh Hart, on the other hand, did not have much luck on the offensive end of the floor.
He finished the game with just 4 points, going 0-7 from the field and 0-3 from beyond the arc. His 4 points came from the free throw line from where he shot at a 50% clip, going 4-8 for the night. However, he did have 17 rebounds to his name along with 5 assists, and 3 blocks, as per StatMuse.
Josh Hart has been playing exceptionally well for the New York Knicks so far in this series. He had 20+ point games in the last three outings but it was this Game 4 of the series where he just couldn’t get it going on offense.
Though the Knicks guard wasn’t able to contribute on the offensive end of the floor, he did make sure to give his all on defense and rebounding. As for his shot-making, he used a Shaquille O’Neal reference quite appropriately to explain his poor free-throw shooting in their latest game, which is, admittedly, a bit amusing.
The New York Knicks now have a commanding lead on the 76ers and are just one game away from eliminating Philly and moving on to the next round.
The Philadelphia 76ers’ swift fall from grace
The Philadelphia 76ers were considered to be a real championship contender this year at the start of the season. After all, despite the trade that sent James Harden away, the franchise found another star in Tyrese Maxy.
Things were initially going extremely well for Philly. The team was in the top 3-4 places in the East and was well on its way to clinching a good seed in the playoffs this year. However, everything went downhill after the injury to Joel Embiid.
Though injured, Joel Embiid still came back early to help the 76ers in the postseason. However, his semi-rehabilitated knee and Bell’s Palsy were a contributing factor to the 76ers’ struggles in this series. Playing with multiple ailments, Embiid expressed his disappointment over Knicks fans overpowering the 76ers fans in their own arena in Game 4 of the series.
“Disappointing. I love our fans, think it’s unfortunate. I’m not calling them out, but it is disappointing… I’ve been here for 10 years, kind of pisses me off.”
Philly is now a game away from being eliminated from title contention this season. With their backs against the wall, will they be able to extend the series?
