Josh Hart praised the New York Knicks’ resilience after their 106-100 Game 3 win over the Indiana Pacers, emphasizing the defensive turnaround and crucial bench contributions that helped cut the series deficit to 2-1.
Speaking postgame at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Hart focused on the team’s defensive adjustment and effort after trailing by as many as 20 in the first half.
“I think we played well defensively,” Hart said. “We started getting stops and then getting out, getting easy buckets. We continued to fight. We continued to trust in each other, continued to communicate at a high level.”
Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored 20 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, helped fuel the rally. Hart noted the forward’s offensive aggression as a key reason for the win.
“He made a couple tough shots. He showed his ability to get to the rim, to post up, to space the floor,” Hart said. “When he has it going like that, it’s great for us ’cause it opens up so many things.”
The Knicks used a nine-man rotation, and Hart credited the bench for keeping the energy up and impacting both ends of the floor.
“Sham played great. Lawn played great. Deuce, you gotta give credit to those guys,” Hart said. “They injected energy into the game. We’re going to continue to rely on guys like that.”
Despite Jalen Brunson being limited by foul trouble for stretches, Hart said the team didn’t panic and stayed locked in defensively.
“We trust everybody—1 through 15,” he said. “If he’s down, that just means someone else has to step up.”
Hart also highlighted how the fourth-quarter defense set the tone for the comeback. New York held Indiana to just 20 points in the final frame.
“You have to come out with that intensity, the physicality, the ball pressure,” Hart said. “We rebounded the ball and then we got out in transition, got easy buckets. Defensively was huge.”
New York outrebounded the Pacers 37-38 and hit 27 of 30 free throws, while holding Indiana to 5-of-25 from three-point range.
Looking ahead to Game 4, Hart kept the focus on staying aggressive from the jump.
“Our goal is always to win the next game. Win the next quarter,” he said. “Now we just gotta focus on having the lead after the first quarter and continuing to build off that.”
Game 4 is set for Tuesday night in Indianapolis, where the Knicks will try to even the Eastern Conference Finals.
