Josh Hart made his return to the lineup on Sunday against the Portland Trail Blazers, his first action since Christmas Day. 

The New York Knicks' all-around wing missed eight games with an ankle injury.

Speaking to reporters about his return, Hart said, "I kinda had a disagreement with Medical…I wanted to do more game-speed stuff yesterday. They didn't want me to do too much game-speed stuff yesterday because they didn't want me to be too sore today. We were going back and forth with that. First 2-3 up-&-backs are the worst, after that it's good."

In his first game back from injury, Hart had 18 points, three rebounds, six assists, two steals, and a block. He played 31 minutes, which is right around his season average, as he helped the Knicks to a 123-114 victory. 

Hart started the game for the Knicks, a role he's been in since November 24th. He began the season coming off the bench. The Knicks have a 13-3 record with Hart in the starting lineup. 

The Knicks went 3-5 during Hart's absence and missed his defense more than anything. With Hart out of the lineup, the Knicks gave up an average of 121.12 points, well above their season average of 114.9, which is 12th best in the league. 

Hart is enjoying his best season in a number of metrics, including Offensive and Defensive Box Plus Minus. 

His OBPM sits at 1.6 while his DBPM is also at 1.6. 

He's averaging 12.4 points (third best of his career), 5.1 assists (second best of his career), 7.9 rebounds (fourth best of his career), and 1.4 steals (second best of his career). He's also shooting 39.8% from three, which is the highest mark of his career.

The lineup of Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges is the most used Knicks lineup on the season, with 128 minutes on the court. The five-man unit has a net rating of 6.3 with a 121.8 offensive rating and a 115.5 defensive rating. 

The second most used five-man unit swaps Anunoby with Miles McBride, and the numbers jump to a 17.5 net rating with a 134.9 offensive rating and a 117.4 defensive rating. 

Of all five-man lineups in the NBA that have played more than 100 minutes, the Hart, McBride, Brunson, Towns, and Bridges lineup is sixth overall in terms of net rating and third in the East.