Jalen Brunson displayed plenty of grit in the New York Knicks’ Game 1 victory in the NBA finals, but second on the Most Valuable list in the early stages of the series is do-it-all veteran Josh Hart.
The 6-foot-5 Hart only scored three points and missed four of his five shots. But he collected 15 rebounds, six assists and four steals in the 105-95 victory over the host San Antonio Spurs, and he’s hungry for more as the Knicks come back for seconds in Game 2 on Saturday, June 6 (Philippine time).
The 31-year-old Hart had three more rebounds than anyone on the floor, which included 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs.
Hart’s contributions were certainly sweet as New York ran its postseason winning streak to 12, tied for second-longest in NBA history.
Hart averaged 12 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 66 regular-season games. His postseason numbers are 10.9, 9.1 and 4.7, respectively.
Hart, though, only considers the numbers when the topic is victories.
Knicks coach Mike Brown certainly feels good about having a team-first player like Hart.
Brunson was the scoring machine and put up 13 of his 30 points in the final quarter. Brunson also played through injuries — right knee, left ankle — sustained during the first half of the contest.
New York closed Game 1 with an 11-0 run to leave the Spurs bruised and battered on the home floor.
San Antonio was just 6-of-21 from the field and committed five turnovers while being outscored by 10 in the final quarter.
The Spurs are loaded with players who are part of their first NBA finals, but coach Mitch Johnson insisted youth wasn’t the reason for the shaky play down the stretch.
Perhaps the biggest symbol of their defeat was Wembanyama’s 6-of-21 shooting. The Frenchman also committed six turnovers.
He maintained that he didn’t succumb to the pressure of his first game on the ultimate NBA stage. Wembanyama also received a text from legendary director of basketball operations Gregg Popovich about his performance.
Wembanyama did contribute 26 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.
One San Antonio player missing in action was De’Aaron Fox, who scored seven points on 3-of-13 shooting and was regularly assigned to defend Brunson.
Fox stated the obvious — he’s got to shoot better — while also reminding people that Game 1 counts as just one loss. (Field Level Media / Reuters)