Josh Hart started for the Knicks on Monday night in place of RJ Barrett, who was battling migraines, and Hart made his mark with a viral 3-pointer that oozed creativity.
Early in the fourth quarter in Boston, Hart received a baseball pass in the corner from Jalen Brunson, and stepped into a 3-point try. But Jrue Holiday, one of the elite defenders in the league, was right in Hart’s face as he went up for the shot. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to get off a clean look, Hart waited until he reached the apex of his jump, flipped the ball off of Holiday’s back as he came back down, received the ricochet, and went back up again, this time as Holiday had his back to Hart, thinking the shot had already gone up.
This time, Hart knocked it down, to the delight of the TV announcers and NBA fans on social media.
Despite Hart’s innovation, the shorthanded Knicks began to lose steam in the fourth quarter, and lost to the Celtics 114-98 in the second half of a back-to-back.