The Cavaliers Challenged Josh Hart. He Answered, and Now the Knicks Look Unstoppable

New York Knicks guard Josh Hart scored a playoff career-high 26 points in his team's Game 2 victory. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Cavaliers dared Josh Hart to beat them. That’s exactly what he did.

Hart exposed a big problem Cleveland has on defense during the Knicks’ win in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday night. The Cavs have to pick their poison to defend New York’s offense, and there’s nothing they can do if they guess wrong.

The Knicks beat Cleveland 109-93 in Game 2 to secure a 2-0 lead in the series, but the way they did it made things look dire for the Cavs. New York has multiple offensive weapons capable of taking over a game. Hart wasn't on the list of guys Cleveland was worried about. Until now.

JOSH HART IS ON FIRE IN GAME 2 ❤️‍🔥 pic.twitter.com/fFtf1e4cDI

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 22, 2026

The 31-year-old guard finished Thursday night’s contest with a career playoff-high 26 points. He finished 10-for-21 from the field and 5-for-11 from three-point range. Those numbers are more remarkable when you realize he missed his first three attempts from deep and went 5-for-8 the rest of the way. The 21 shots he took were a season high by four. His previous top mark came on January 30 when he went 9-for-17 from the field in a 127-97 win over the Trail Blazers.

During New York’s 115-104 overtime win in Game 1 on Tuesday, Hart finished with 13 points after going 5-for-11 from the field and 1-for-5 from three-point range. He only played 2:43 during the fourth quarter and overtime of the team's huge comeback win. On Thursday, he was in the thick of what turned out to be a dominant performance. His fingerprints were all over an 18-0 third-quarter run that all but put the game out of reach. During that stretch, he had nine points, two assists and a steal, and he finished the quarter with 12 points.

We’ve seen a similar development in the Western Conference finals

Thunder guard Alex Caruso reacts to a play during the second quarter against the Spurs. | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

After the game, Cavs star guard Donovan Mitchell gave his thoughts on Hart’s offensive explosion and compared it to a similar phenomenon in the Western Conference finals.

“I’m not comparing the players, but you see a similar situation in the other series with [Alex] Caruso. They’re guarding him kind of the same way,” Mitchell said. “Sometimes you’ve got to tip your cap ... sometimes that’s what happens.”

The Hart-Caruso comparison is interesting. Both are tough guards more known for defense and hustle than their scoring ability. Given how talented the Thunder are on offense, the Spurs have given Caruso more room to operate, betting that he won’t be the one to beat them. He’s been phenomenal.

In San Antonio’s 122-115 double-overtime win in Game 1, Caruso scored 31 points in 32 minutes, while going 11-for-19 from the floor and 8-for-14 from deep. In Oklahoma City’s Game 2 victory, Caruso had 17 points in 25 minutes, and went 5-for-7 from the field and 3-for-4 from three-point range. In the series, he’s 11-for-18 from beyond the arc. That 61.1% is incredible considering he only hit 29.3% of his three-pointers during the regular season.

Hart is 6-for-16 from deep in the series, which is 37.5%, well-below his 41.3% during the regular season. But he’s only a 35.0% three-point shooter in his career, and during the regular season he averaged 9.0 field goal attempts and 3.6 attempts from beyond the arc. No scouting report on the planet called for him taking 11 three-pointers in Game 2.

JOSH HART SPIN CYCLE THEN THE THREE 🌀🔥 pic.twitter.com/fXJAteUnSx

— ESPN (@espn) May 22, 2026

It’s a math problem for the Cavaliers. They can’t guard everyone tightly, so who do they help off of? Hart is the obvious answer when the starting lineup features Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby. In Game 2, Cleveland gambled on leaving him open and lost big.

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