SAN ANTONIO — When the New York Knicks needed a lift, they turned to the player who has given them everything he has all season.
Josh Hart overcame early foul trouble to lead a defensive effort that stymied the San Antonio Spurs in the second half as New York rallied for a 105-95 victory in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday.
“That’s just who he is,” said Jalen Brunson, who led the Knicks with 30 points. “He’s always been that way. I can’t explain it. He just has a knack for doing things like that, and in crucial times, as well. It’s a credit to who he is as a player.”
Scoring three points on 1-for-5 shooting doesn’t sound like an impactful line, but Hart’s value to the Knicks goes well beyond his offence.
Hart finished with 15 rebounds, six assists, four steals and a blocked shot in 27 minutes. The Knicks outscored the Spurs by 22 points when Hart was on the court, the highest plus-minus by eight of any player in the series opener.
Hart is the first player with 15-plus rebounds, six-plus assists and four-plus steals in an NBA Finals game since Hall of Famer Larry Bird in Game 3 of 1986 NBA Finals for Boston against the Houston Rockets.
“I don’t really don’t care about it, honestly,” Hart said, chuckling. “I’m happy we got the win. Happy I was able to impact the game. Obviously, I had a couple of shots that I felt good about that didn’t go in. How I play the game, it goes far beyond made shots, it goes far beyond box scores. Glory to God, he was able to strengthen me in moments of weakness and I was able to just go out there and just hoop.”
The Spurs were held to 40 points in the second half and were outscored 29-19 in the fourth quarter. Hart had three steals in the fourth quarter alone as the Knicks sealed a victory in Game 1 with Game 2 scheduled for Friday in San Antonio.
Hart picked up three early fouls that limited him to 6 1/2 minutes in the first quarter and only 37 seconds in the second. San Antonio shot 38% on 3-pointers in scoring 55 points in the first half with Hart largely on the bench.
“These guys are resilient, man,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. ”They get better as the game goes along. They really try to pay attention to the details that we are throwing at them.”
Hart was key to that turnaround in the second half.
Spurs forward Julian Champagnie was 5 for 6 on 3-pointers in the first half but missed all five of his attempts in the second half. Champagnie finished with 16 points.
At 20 years old, Spurs rookie Dylan Harper became the youngest player to score 10 points in the NBA Finals, doing so in his first six minutes on the court. He was limited to four points on 2-for-5 shooting in the second half and finished with 16 points.
Hart’s first steal of the fourth quarter led to a running layup by Brunson that put New York ahead 92-86 with 6:34 remaining.
His final steal led to Brunson’s 15-foot jumper with 38 seconds that sealed the victory.
“You know, you look at Josh Hart’s line being 1 for 5 from the field, and the guy had 15 rebounds and four steals, and he made some unbelievable defensive plays and he helped us tremendously in transition,” Brown said. “So, heck of a job by Josh.”
