Knicks' Josh Hart reacts to Mikal Bridges' game-winner after minutes drama

03/13/2025 09:33 AM

Mikal Bridges of the New York Knicks made some waves with his comments on the minutes distribution on Wednesday, fanning the flames for the critics of Tom Thibodeau, who believe that the starters are playing too much and will get worn down. Bridges responded with one of his best games since joining the Knicks, scoring 33 points, including the game-winning buzzer-beater in overtime in the 114-113 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, and his teammate, Josh Hart calmed the concerns regarding his comments after the game.

“Yeah man, we know Kale (Mikal Bridges). We know where his heart is,” Josh Hart said, via New York Basketball on X. “It’s background noise. We’re all locked into doing what we gotta do down this stretch and win games.”

"We know Kale. We know where his heart is. It's background noise. We're all locked in"

–– Josh Hart on Mikal Bridges dropping 33 & hitting a game-winning overtime buzzer-beater after raising minutes concerns pregame pic.twitter.com/bCwhFFJsVa

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) March 13, 2025

Bridges was expected to be a seamless fit with the Knicks when he was acquired from the Brooklyn Nets over the summer, as he was joining many of his former Villanova teammates. It has not been smooth so far in his first season with the Knicks, especially when it comes to getting acclimated to being in an offense that has Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Brunson has missed the last three games, meaning that a player like Bridges has to take on more responsibilities offensively, as he did during his days with the Nets. He thrived in that role on Wednesday against the Trail Blazers.

The injury to Brunson is obviously not ideal, but maybe Bridges will be able to get more comfortable in the Knicks system in the meantime, which would help everything run better once Brunson does return to the lineup.

The Knicks moved to 42-23 overall with the win, and they are firmly in third place in the Eastern Conference. Up next for New York is a road game on Saturday against the Golden State Warriors before returning home to play the Miami Heat on Monday.

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