Towns has some admiration for Hart's three-point renaissance.
The New York Knicks took care of business on Sunday night, cruising past the Washington Wizards 145-113 at Madison Square Garden for their sixth straight win.
The victory pushed New York to 47-25 on the season, while Washington dropped to 16-55 and continued to spiral with its 16th consecutive loss.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the charge with 26 points and 16 rebounds for his league-leading 50th double-double of the year, and Jalen Brunson added 23 points in a game that was never really in question.
But in his postgame interview, Towns wanted to talk about somebody else, specifically his teammate Josh Hart and his recent shooting surge from beyond the arc.
"He's actually shooting it when he's open and not hesitating, so that helps a lot," Towns said. "He's a special three-point shooter. He's shooting with confidence, and when he's doing that, he becomes a three-level scorer."
Hart's Three-Point Renaissance
Those words might have sounded strange a year ago, but they carry real weight right now. Hart went 3-for-3 from three-point range against the Wizards, and that performance extended a streak that has been turning heads around the league.
He has now made his last nine three-point attempts in a row dating back three games, a stretch that includes his career-high 33-point explosion against Indiana on March 17 when he went 5-for-5 from deep on 12-of-13 shooting overall.
For most of his career, Hart has not been known as a reliable outside shooter, and his game has centered more on hustle plays, offensive rebounds, and transition scoring.
But this season he is averaging 12.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 5.1 assists while shooting around 40 percent from three, which is a career best by a wide margin.
That number is a huge jump from the low-30s range he sat in for most of his time in the league, and the confidence Towns is talking about has been building all year long.
A Full Team Effort at the Garden
Hart finished Sunday's game with 16 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals, which was just one piece of a dominant night for the Knicks overall.
New York shot 58.5 percent from the floor and 53 percent from three as a team while also going 18-for-19 from the free throw line.
Mikal Bridges chipped in 14 points and six assists, and Mitchell Robinson came off the bench to record a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds on perfect 5-for-5 shooting in just 17 minutes.
The Knicks led 68-52 at halftime and then poured on 77 second-half points to put the game away, eventually leading by as many as 33 points in the fourth quarter.
Tyler Kolek added 11 points in limited action while going 3-for-3 from deep, which was especially impressive considering he had scored 42 points for the Westchester Knicks in a G League game earlier that same day.
Looking Ahead
The Knicks are now 22-7 since January 20 and own the best defensive rating in the Eastern Conference during that stretch, which is a big reason they have climbed to third in the conference standings.
With Hart shooting the ball like this and Towns averaging 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds on the season alongside Brunson's scoring punch, New York looks like a team that is peaking at the right time heading into the final stretch before the playoffs.
The Knicks host the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday as they look to make it seven in a row.