Like a father with a garbage bag hunting for discarded wrapping paper, New York Knicks forward Josh Hart was diving all over the floor on Christmas Day.
Hart's serendipitous double-double was perhaps lost in the holiday fold amidst packed box scores for Mikal Bridges and Victor Wembanyama but it came up as the Knicks took down the San Antonio Spurs 117-114 on Wednesday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. The win was secured through Hart's heroics, where he extended the Knicks' final possession to nearly over 38 seconds by grabbing two crucial offensive rebounds that ran out the clock.
Hart claimed it was all in a day's work in the aftermath.
"That possession is the definition of my job and why I’m here: to make those energy, extra effort plays,” Hart said in video from SNY's Ian Begley. "I think I did a tweet yesterday, someone said something about (scoring) 30 points and I just said hey, bro, that's not my job [laughs]. Plays like that, that's my job."
The Knicks had a seemingly safe six-point lead going into the final minute but Chris Paul hit a three that made it a one-possession game again. Following a Knicks timeout, there were just over 38 seconds left to kill.
Jalen Brunson missed a would-be dagger that sprang loose in a tie-up between Paul and OG Anunoby. Hart dove before the ball could reach Devin Vassell and extended the Knicks' possession, though they still couldn't naturally run things out due to the shortened shot clock offered after offensive rebounds.
From the floor, Hart managed to get the ball with Brunson back the at the top of the key. Defense from Tre Jones, with help from Paul, forced Brunson to dish it out to Anunoby with hardly anytime to spare, especially with the pass tipped by Vassell. Anunonby's miss from the corner likewise bounced out and into open floor, but Hart outraced Jeremy Sochan for the loose ball.
One more pass to Brunson in seated position helped avoid Sochan and Jones' attempt to extend the game by intentionally fouling and the horn mercifully sounded, sending Madison Square Garden into hysterics. For his efforts, Hart was immediately offered a high-five from head coach Tom Thibodeau, who was staioned near Hart's final landing spot.
“Just motor, man. He’s just always active, and that activity allows him to get some really good rebounds,” Karl-Anthony Towns lauded, per Zach Braziller of the New York Post. “Shoutout to Josh. Man, those are big rebounds.”
Big rebounds were a theme in the Knicks' win, their 15th over the past 19 games: Wembanyama put forth another dominant effort by pairing 18 boards with 42 points but five different New Yorkers hauled in at least five. Hart led the way while Precious Achiuwa had 10 in relief, including four on the offensive end. Despite seeing his double-double streak end at 18, Towns still put up nine.
Of note, New York outrebounded San Antonio 17-8 on the offensive glass, yielding 19 second chance points. It was San Antonio's second-worst offensive rebounding margin in a game this season.
"The offensive rebounding was huge. Made a big difference in the game,” Thibodeau said, per Braziller. “We had 100 shots, they had 83.”
The Knicks (20-10) close out the calendar year on a three-game road trip, beginning with a Friday night visit to Orlando (7 p.m. ET, MSG).
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