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Knicks' Josh Hart: 'The way we’re losing games is embarrassing'

Wednesday night's loss to the Spurs was one thing, but to look lifeless against a 17-win Hornets team is another.

That's what the Knicks have to come to terms with after their 115-98 loss to Charlotte on Thursday night. Sure, it was the second of a back-to-back on the road, and New York is trying to find wins without Jalen Brunson on the floor, but how the Knicks played in Charlotte was nothing fans have seen or expected from this team all season.

The Knicks were outworked and outplayed for most of Thursday's game. And Josh Hart has one big concern for his team right now.

"Mental toughness. I think that’s my main concern right now," Hart said after the game. "We can make all the excuses in the world, but there’s highs and lows in the season and no one's 82-0. But the way that we're losing games is embarrassing.

"So, we have to find a way to right the ship. We have to come out next game with more intensity, more desperation. Starts with myself. As someone who's supposed to bring energy. I've been atrocious the last several weeks. So, we have to get our minds prepared for the end of the season."

Hart, who came in averaging 9.7 rebounds a game, came down with just four against the Hornets. That's indicative of how much more the Hornets wanted this game as they outrebounded the Knicks 52-38.

But it wasn't just on the glass, the Knicks shot poorly too. They shot only 40 percent from the field and 10-of-39 from three (25 percent). The Knicks' bench was also outscored 37-11.

The Knicks knew it would be difficult to generate offense without Brunson, and they are now just 3-4 without him, but they have to find ways to stay afloat and can't get down on themselves when shots aren't falling.

"Shots are gonna fall, not fall, whatever that is. In that case, we got to clean up on the defensive end," Miles McBride said. "Make sure we're doing everything we can for them to miss shots and us to rebound because we're a talented team. We're going to end up making shots. It's just got to be on the other end." 

"The defense and the rebounding have to be the constant, so the nights that you're not shooting well you still have a good chance to win," head coach Tom Thibodeau said of his team's performance. "I thought for the most part, there was a lot of unselfish play. We didn't shoot well, but we had 26 assists. Right. And there was low turnover, but I think sometimes when you're missing those types of shots it tends to … you can't allow that to take away from your intensity, or your concentration. The frustration, you have to eliminate."

The team talked about fatigue and how the Knicks' recent brutal schedule has attributed to their slow starts of late, but this group would tell you that it's not something they can accept.

"Like I said, we can make the excuses. We've had a terrible two, two and a half weeks of travel. But all teams go through terrible travel periods during the season. And it's not an excuse," Hart said of the schedule. "If we're right mentally. We win some of these games but we're not doing what it takes.

"We’re not doing the extra effort. We're not giving energy, not giving the right output. We're crying to refs. We got to pick it up."

"It's very uncharacteristic of us to come out the way we did," McBride said. "And we just got to come together and find it. Whatever you have to do. We have to do it."

For the Knicks, they have a few nights to rest in their own beds before their next game. They host the Washington Wizards on Saturday night, looking to put this embarrassing stretch behind them.

New York's loss Thursday coupled with the Pacers' win against the Nets has put the gap between them at only three games. If the Knicks want to hold onto their No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, they'll need to figure things out and fast.

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William & Mary women notch school’s first NCAA basketball tournament victory with 69-63 win

Bella Nascimento scored 24 points and William & Mary edged High Point 69-63 Thursday night for a victory in the Tribe's first NCAA Tournament appearance in either women's or men's basketball. The victory in the First Four matchup of 16-seeds sends William & Mary (16-18) into a game with No. 1 seed Texas on Saturday. William & Mary was the last original Division I basketball member from 1938-39 to have never made either NCAA Tournament.

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Nets drop second straight with 105-99 OT loss to Pacers

NDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Bennedict Mathurin scored six of his 28 points in overtime and the Indiana Pacers defeated the Brooklyn Nets 105-99 on Thursday night.

Mathurin added a career-high 16 rebounds for the Pacers. Myles Turner added 23 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks.

Ziaire Williams and D’Angelo Russell each scored 22 points for Brooklyn.

Indiana trailed 52-42 at halftime and outscored the Nets by four points in the third quarter and six in the fourth to force overtime tied at 91.

In overtime, Mathurin shot 2 for 3 from the field and 2 for 3 from the line.

Takeaways

Nets: Brooklyn’s free-fall continued with the team’s 12th loss in 14 games. Brooklyn led 52-42 at halftime but scored just 39 points in the second half and was outscored 14-8 in overtime.

Pacers: Indiana came through in the clutch without its star point guard and now has won five of six. Tyrese Haliburton missed the game with lower back soreness. It was his third straight missed game, and the Pacers have won them all.

Key moment

Mathurin made three free throws with 14 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 91, leading to overtime.

Key stat

The Pacers outscored the Nets by 14 points at the free throw line, making 27. The Nets hits 13.

Up next

The teams meet again on Saturday, in Indianapolis.

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Knicks' road woes continue, bench struggles in 115-98 loss to Hornets

A lot has been made of the Knicks' schedule, and their fatigue, and it showed Thursday as they dropped the second of their back-to-back, 115-98 to the Hornets in Charlotte.

New York could not feed off of the large contingent of Knicks fans in attendance, as they were outplayed and outworked by the Hornets (18-51). The Knicks' offense was once again flat without Jalen Brunson, and the team is now 3-4 without its captain.

Here are the takeaways...

-The Knicks got off to another slow start, missing their first three shots and allowing the Hornets to get out to a 9-2 lead in the opening minutes. But the Knicks would clamp down on defense and get their offense going through OG Anunoby, as they went on a 15-4 run to take the lead for the first time with six minutes to go in the first.

However, the Knicks' offense would go ice cold in the final minutes. The combination of misses and turnovers allowed the Hornets to go on a 12-0 run and end the first on top, 27-19. The Knicks would not score a point over the last five minutes. Anunoby led the Knicks with 10 points, but the offense as a whole was not good. They shot 7-for-20 in the opening frame.

Mark Williams and Jusuf Nurkic took advantage of the Knicks' lack of size, with Mitchell Robinson not playing due to injury management. Both centers scored six points each and grabbed seven combined rebounds, three offensive.

-The second quarter went a lot like the first, with cold shooting from the Knicks. In the middle of the quarter, the Knicks went without a field goal for four minutes, while the Hornets continued to beat New York on the glass.

Karl-Anthony Towns would hit back-to-back threes to break the Knicks' drought and give the team some life, but New York could not cut more into Charlotte's lead, as they went into halftime down, 54-44.

Only four Knicks scored in the first half, with Miles McBride being the only starter to go scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting. The guard was questionable heading into the game with a groin contusion, but he simply could not find his range. The Knicks bench went a combined 0-for-5 and didn't score a point.

New York was also outrebounded, 27-17, at halftime.

-McBride would find his game early in the third, making his first shots and finding his teammates for early scores. On the defensive end, the Knicks found their intensity just like in Wednesday's game. New York would cut Charlotte's lead to five, but whenever the Knicks made a run, the Hornets would make a timely three or get to the free-throw line.

The Knicks' frustration bubbled over in the waning minutes of the third, when Towns went hard to the basket and thought he had an and-one. The Knicks' center was demonstrative toward the official and was assessed a technical foul. Towns wouldn't shoot his first free throw of the game until 18 seconds left in the third quarter.

-The Knicks' bench was being outscored 32-0 until Cam Payne hit a three with 10:55 left in the game for the bench's first points. It didn't amount to much, as every Knicks run would be extinguished by a Hornets' three or run. With two minutes left in the game and down 18 points, Tom Thibodeau emptied his bench.

-The Hornets outrebounded the Knicks, 52-38, and were better offensively. Charlotte collectively shot 49 percent, including 15-of-32 from three, while the Knicks shot just 40 percent and 10-of-39 from downtown.

Charlotte's bench outscored New York's, 37-11.

Anunoby (25) and Towns (24) led the way for the Knicks, but it was not nearly enough. Josh Hart scored 13 points -- after scoring just two on Wednesday -- but came down with only four rebounds. MIkal Bridges (16 points on 5-of-11 shooting) and McBride (9) rounded out the scoring for the starters. LaMelo Ball had a team-high 25 points for the Hornetts, and went 5-of-10 from three. Williams also finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds (seven offensive).

Highlights

What's next

The Knicks get some much-needed days off before returning to The Garden on Saturday to take on the Washington Wizards. Tip is set for 8 p.m.

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What Butler yelled at Draymond after clutch block in Warriors' win

What Butler yelled at Draymond after clutch block in Warriors' win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

While Draymond Green typically authors the Warriors’ defensive heroics, Jimmy Butler couldn’t pass up an opportunity to remind his Golden State teammate he can do it too.

Butler delivered the play of the game with a clutch block in the final minute of the Warriors’ 117-114 win over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday, racing over to Green where the two shared a brief exchange before joining in celebration.

So what exactly did Butler tell the former NBA Defensive Player of the Year?

“I can do that too,” Butler told reporters when asked what he told Green following the block. “Like I always say, I respect Draymond so much. I definitely respect him because he took 14 [3-pointers] tonight. I love that. He’ll do anything to make sure this squad gets a dub. Whatever you ask him to do, he’s willing to do that. So, I’m glad I can follow suit in that sometimes.”

Butler’s heroics helped stave off a gritty effort from a scrappy Raptors team, propelling the Warriors to a 6-1 homestand as Golden State continues to rack up wins after the addition of its new star wing.

Butler and Green form a dynamic defensive duo that inspires plenty of confidence moving forward as Golden State seeks to make a deep NBA playoff run.

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