INDIANAPOLIS — Josh Hart does almost everything on the basketball court, except for asking to be taken off the basketball court. He has logged four complete games through the Knicks’ first 11 postseason matchups, and yet, with New York perhaps on the brink of its first Eastern Conference finals appearance since 2000, the alarming sight of Hart motioning toward the sideline, his left hand cupping his rib area, came just over five minutes into the first quarter Friday night.
“Obviously, something must have been wrong,” Knicks All-Star guard Jalen Brunson said.
Hart retreated to the corner of the visiting team’s bench inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, standing and consulting with athletic training staffers. He’d return to the floor only two minutes later, and then dove on the floor for a loose ball in his trademark fashion, skipping a pass to Donte DiVincenzo in the right corner all while splayed on his back. But Hart was clutching his midsection during every downbeat of the game’s frenetic pace. Indiana burst into the open floor after stops and even Knicks baskets. The Pacers lived in the lane all evening long, building a 23-point fourth quarter lead by the time New York ruled Hart out for the remainder of Game 6 with what the team labeled “abdominal soreness,” as Indiana emerged with a 116-103 victory.
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) is surrounded by Pacers during the first half of Game 6 on Friday in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
The Knicks’ rash of injuries has been an inextricable part of this playoff run as much as their dogged play still has New York one win away from the next round that’s eluded this franchise for two decades. Now Game 7 is set for 3:30 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden, and one key question looms in between contests: Will that be enough time for Hart to recover, let alone return to form? “I guess you can just add it to the list,” Brunson said.
New York is already down three starters, with Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson sidelined due to season-ending surgeries, and OG Anunoby nursing a strained hamstring that has left the Knicks without their marquee…
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Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2024-05-18 05:08:24
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