Josh Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns Make Knicks History

It’s a little early to determine whether the names of Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart will hang next to those of Patrick Ewing and Walt “Clyde” Frazier in New York Knicks immortality at Madison Square Garden.

In the record book, however, they’re currently etched in ink.

Hart and Towns took center stage in the Knicks’ latest win with Jalen Brunson sidelined and earned their place alongside metropolitan legends. Towns led the way with 31 points and 21 rebounds while Hart posted a 15-point, 14-rebound, 12 assist double-double as New York downed the Utah Jazz by a 119-103 final on Wednesday night.

Hart is the first Knick, and fifth overall, to earned a triple-double in back-to-back games since Michael Ray Richardson did so in 1981 and that unique brotherhood also includes Walt “Clyde” Frazier, Richie Guerin, and Jerry Lucas.

Towns, on the other hand, becomes the third Knick to have three straight games with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds, alongside Patrick Ewing and Bob McAdoo, and the first since the former to have at least two 30-20 games in the same season.

It was an emphatic win for the Knicks (24-10), who won with both Brunson and Miles McBride sidelined. New York has won nine in a row, tying its longest streak of the past decade and earning its first such tally since Hart’s debuts with the team in February 2023.

“We know we have enough talent to win no matter who’s playing,” Hart said in his postgame interview with Bill Pidto of MSG Network before taking some playful jabs at Brunson and McBride (H/t New York Basketball on X). “Hopefully those guys can get a little toughness and get out here next time. But we know we had enough. We just had to go out and execute.”

Hart and Towns’ next chance to make history lands on Friday night against a formidable opponent, as the Knicks will go for 10 against the Oklahoma City Thunder (8 p.m. ET, MSG/NBA TV).

Make sure you bookmark Knicks on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!