Josh Hart has nightmare Game 6 to finish off miserable series
INDIANAPOLIS — Josh Hart said he was 'embarrassed' when he looked at the film of his Game 4 performance.
He wasn't necessarily much better in Game 5, but it was masked by the Knicks' win.
He certainly won't like reviewing his performance in the Knicks' 125-108 Game 6, season-ending loss to the Pacers on Saturday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
He'll have an entire offseason to look it over.
Hart seemed to be in his own head after his struggles earlier in the series.
He finished with four points on 1-for-6 shooting from the field.
Josh Hart reacts during the Knicks' Game 6 loss to the Pacers on May 31.
Charles Wenzelberg
And his two best attributes — rebounding and ball movement — were absent.
He had just six rebounds and one assist.
He played a season-low 22 minutes.
His indecisiveness was glaring at the end of the third quarter on back-to-back possessions.
He had a two-on-one with Karl-Anthony Towns and Obi Toppin defending with under 20 seconds left in the quarter.
He left his feet and looked to pass to Towns, then changed his mind midair and threw up a layup, which he missed.
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Then, he bricked a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the quarter.
The Knicks could have cut their deficit to single digits.
Instead, they entered the fourth quarter down 15.
Hart subsequently missed the only shot he took in the fourth quarter.
Josh Hart gets called for an offensive foul during the Knicks' Game 6 loss to the Pacers on May 31.
Charles Wenzelberg
For the series, Hart had nearly as many turnovers (13) as made field goals (14).
Instead of being the Knicks' do-it-all glue guy, he was a struggle-at-all liability.
After previously starting every game he played this year, Hart was removed from the starting lineup for the final four games of the series.
It paid some dividends to the starting lineup, as Mitchell Robinson made an impact with the unit.
But it certainly didn't help spark Hart, who had a series to forget.
After providing so much good this year, his lasting image was nightmarish.
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