The New York Knicks “needed” Jalen Brunson in their 97-92 Game 4 win over the Philadelphia 76ers to take a commanding 3-1 lead.
Brunson finished 47 points, scoring 38 points through three quarters.
He also dished out 10 assists and snagged four rebounds while turning the ball over just once. But Brunson’s offense helped bring home the victory, leading all scorers with nine of the Knicks’ 20 points in the fourth quarter.
“We needed it,” Josh Hart told reporters on April 28. “His 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. But, nah, he played great offensively. Aggressive, and I felt we needed it. So now we gotta continue to build off that in Game 5 and keep moving forward.”
Hart finished the game with four points, going 0-for-7 from the floor, 0-for-8 from beyond the arc, and 4-for-8 at the free throw line.
The Knicks shot 61.5% as a team at the charity strip in the contest.
Josh Hart Dominated the Glass in Knicks’ Game 4 Win
Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal was a notoriously poor free throw shooter, connecting on 52.7% of his tries in his career. O’Neal was still one of the game’s most dominant forces, racking MVP votes and All-Star appearances late into his career.
For his part in this contest, the hard-nosed Hart contributed in various other ways. He had a game-high 17 rebounds, five of which came on the offensive glass.
Hart also had five assists and three blocks.
Hart is averaging 16.8 points, 12.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 1.0 steals through four games in this series. Only Brunson and Sixers stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey are averaging more points.
That same All-Star trio are the only players in the series averaging more assists per game than Hart is.
No one in this series is averaging more rebounds.
The only qualifying players that are? Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers, Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, and Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen. That is 16 All-Star appearances, nine All-NBA selections, two championships, and two MVP awards among that group.
Hart was being self-deprecating with his postgame comments. But he is putting himself among elite company with his play and it’s helped put the Knicks in the driver’s seat in this series.
Knicks in Command Against Sixers Ahead of Game 5
The Sixers did well to avoid the dreaded 0-3 hole, which has yet to see a team complete the comeback in 151 tries. But their fate could still be all but sealed, with the Knicks holding a 95.4% chance of moving on.
Teams in the Knicks’ position are 268-13 all-time when leading a series 3-1.
They have to remain locked in, or otherwise become the 14th team to squander such a commanding lead. That shouldn’t be an issue for this group.
Players like Brunson and Hart will make sure of it on the floor. And Head Coach Tom Thibodeau isn’t one to tolerate sub-par effort. That approach would come in hand against their likely opponent, the Indiana Pacers, who hold a 3-1 lead over the Milwaukee Bucks in their series.
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