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PHILADELPHIA — Josh Hart was expecting the 76ers to dare him to shoot, even with the success he had from long distance earlier in the series.
Hart knocked down likely the biggest 3-pointer of his career, a tiebreaking shot with 25.1 seconds remaining in the Knicks’ 118-115, series-sealing win Thursday night over the 76ers.
“Josh was Josh,” coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game. “He’s a player. He’s put a lot of time into his shooting. I always feel like, I don’t know what it is about him. There’s so many intangibles that he has, that makes your team good.
“I always have the belief that when it’s a big shot, it’s going in. He has that ability. When you need an offensive rebound, he’s gonna go through three, four, five people and go get it. It’s a loose ball, he’s gonna make something happen. He’s just a fierce, fierce competitor.”
Hart shot just 31.0 percent from 3-point range during the regular season, a precipitous falloff from the 51.9 percent he’d posted in 25 games with the Knicks late last season following a trade with the Trail Blazers.
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But with the Sixers’ game plan to swarm Jalen Brunson and dare Hart to beat them, he sank four 3-pointers in each of the first three games and three more Thursday.
“It was a rotation, obviously they blitzed J.B., so I knew [Tyrese] Maxey was right there, right next to me, so my first instinct was if they rotate, to make a pass to Tay,” Hart said, referring to teammate Donte DiVincenzo. “Obviously the game plan was to not rotate to me.
“The second I saw they were not rotating, I got my feet set and took an uncontested shot.”
Hart finished the series averaging 16.8 points, 12.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 46.3 minutes per game, including all 53 minutes in Game 5 and 46 more in Game 6.
Hart, who had ice bags on both knees after the morning shoot-around, tweaked his ankle in the second quarter, but he remained in the game.
“Josh is never close to coming out,” Thibodeau joked. “It was a passing thought, and I let it pass.”
