Josh Hart Leaves Knicks Loss

A heartbreaking evening for the New York Knicks fortunately wasn’t Hart-breaking.

Amidst a 16-point, 13-rebound night, Knicks guard/forward Josh Hart left Monday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers with an apparent ankle injury. Hart was in the locker room as the Knicks’ hopes slipped away in an eventual 110-104 defeat at Madison Square Garden.

“”I haven’t talked to medical,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said in the immediate aftermath (h/t New York Basketball on X). “They said it was a bruise but I haven’t gotten anything further.”

Hart was one of the most consistent silver linings of Monday’s game, as he secured a double-double for the second consecutive occasion. Such a gritty effort helped the Knicks (1-2) keep pace after a slow shooting start, as he was already a mere point away from his double-double by halftime.

Hart’s medical event came in the latter stages of the fourth quarter as the Knicks tried to hold off a Cleveland comeback. As he went for a ball loose from the hands of Darius Garland, Hart made contact with Caris LeVert and fell to the ground in pain. Though LeVert was found not guilty of a flagrant foul, Hart went to the line for two successful free throws.

After the singles, Hart tried to play through the ailment but asked Thibodeau for a substitute with 4:04 remaining after an Ariel Hukporti offensive foul. After Hart retreated to the Knicks’ locker room, Cleveland (4-0) sealed the deal thanks in part to a 5-2 advantage in rebounds over the final four-plus minutes. The Knicks pulled in 11 offensive rebounds in the first two periods but mustered only two more in the latter 24. Hart and Mikal Bridges earned four each in defeat.

Hart was previously diagnosed as questionable for Monday’s game with an “ankle impingement” as he overcame a slight limp during Friday’s win over Indiana.

“Of course, anybody that doesn’t finish the game it’s hard to see and you want your brothers out there finishing the game with you,” Hart’s teammate and close friend Jalen Brunson said, per Steve Popper of Newsday. “Don’t know what’s the situation but we’ll see going forward.”

Hart’s perilous preseason, in which he described himself as “lost,” already feels like ancient history: his early rebounding prowess, picking up where he left off last season, is a welcome sight as the Knicks continue to work through the losses of Isaiah Hartenstein and Julius Randle, as well as the ongoing medical absences of Precious Achiuwa and Mitchell Robinson.

But the fact that Hart, renowned for his 48-minute efforts, outright asked for an exit is perhaps a troubling sign for those already panicking about the Knicks’ slow start, especially with a four-game road trip looming. In addition to Hart, the Knicks also endured a brief Brunson scare when the captain likewise fled for the locker room in the third quarter, though he quickly returned to finish things out.

The Knicks will be back in action on Wednesday when the early tour begins in South Beach against the Miami Heat (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).

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