Knicks Tune Critics Out in Game 4 Win

The New York Knicks have the heart, says Josh Hart.

Amidst his role in a postseason controversy — but another New York postseason win — Hart once again addressed the idea that the aura of this year's Knicks doesn't match that of last year's. Hart hopes that Game 4 of the series, a 94-93 Knicks victory, serves to change the narrative around the team's mindset.

"Everyone talks about this team, you know, ‘they don’t have the physicality, they don’t do this, they don’t do that, they don't have the physicality, we tune that out," Hart said in the aftermath (h/t New York Basketball on X). "At one point, I think we were down 10 in that fourth quarter and we just got stops. [Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns] knocked down shots but we just got stops. [Mikal Bridges] was active, OG [Anunoby] was active, it was a full team effort."

“Everyone talks about this team — ‘they don’t have the physicality, they don’t do this, they don’t do that’ — we tune that out”

— Josh Hart on the Knicks pic.twitter.com/v654xZyEjP
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) April 28, 2025

Sunday's win was labeled by some as a "90s game," one that fell short of the pinball machine-style tallies prevalent on modern Association scoreboards. There was no lack of physicality, however.

There were 34 interruptions for fouls in Sunday's game — and that, of course, doesn't include the one that refs said should've been called against Hart when he played defense against Tim Hardaway Jr.'s would-be winner on the Pistons' final possession. Hart, who previously called comparisons to last season's team "idiotic," likely had some grievances as well, as he faced a physical box-out from Tobias Harris on a scrum for a rebound off a Cade Cunningham mid-range miss before Hardaway's try.

Nonetheless, the Knicks had the necessary grit to prevail in a vital fourth game, one that saw New York take a 3-1 in the best-of-seven set against the Pistons. It was just the third game the Knicks won this season where they scored few than 100 points and their first since January.

Hart's teammate Karl-Anthony Towns hopes that future NBA All-Stars are taking note of the physcality on display in the Knicks-Pistons series, which returns to Madison Square Garden later this week.

“I think this is a great series for the NBA," Towns said, per Barbara Baker of the Newsday. "I think it gives a little bit of old-school vibes. I think this is great for kids watching who haven’t been able to see old-school basketball to see this kind of reminiscent game of old-school physicality.”

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