Brown raved about the impact of Hart after the Knicks blew out the Pacers.
The New York Knicks rolled past the Indiana Pacers 136-110 on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, and Josh Hart put on a show that had his head coach smiling from ear to ear.
Hart dropped a season-high 33 points in just 26 minutes, going 12-of-13 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 from three-point range.
That doesn't come around often from Hart, who is typically more of a glue guy than a go-to scorer.
But with Jalen Brunson sidelined due to right ankle management and a neck strain, Hart stepped up and made the most of every look he got.
Brown Breaks Down What He Likes About Hart
After the game, Knicks head coach Mike Brown talked about what stood out to him about Hart's night, specifically his willingness to let it fly from the corner.
"He's been really really good from the corner the whole year. And, you know, if he's open, we don't want him to hesitate," Brown said. "Usually when he does hesitate and he takes a couple dribbles towards the basket, messes up his rhythm and stuff like that. And so just, you know, he puts in the work. And so for him to let it fly like he did tonight, knock more than them going in, I was more excited about that than anything else."
That quote says a lot about why Brown values Hart the way he does.
When Hart catches the ball in rhythm and shoots without second-guessing himself, he is a completely different player on the offensive end.
Brown has talked all season about how Hart does things that don't always show up in the box score, and he has praised Hart's intangible impact on the team dating back to when Hart returned from his ankle injury earlier this year.
On the season, Hart is averaging 12.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 5.1 assists while shooting 50.6 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from deep in 56 games.
His real value comes from everything else he brings to the table though, the hustle plays, the offensive rebounds, and the energy that gets the rest of the roster going.
What the Knicks Need for a Deep Playoff Run
New York improved to 45-25 with the win, good for third in the Eastern Conference behind the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics.
Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Jose Alvarado filled in nicely for Brunson with 16 points and 10 assists.
OG Anunoby added 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting, and the Knicks shot 54% from the field as a team.
That kind of balanced effort is what New York needs if they want to hang with the top teams in the East come playoff time.
The Pistons are sitting at 49-19 and the Celtics are right behind them at 46-23, so the Knicks still have ground to make up if they want home court in the first round.
The biggest thing for this team going forward is defensive consistency, which has been up and down all year long.
When the Knicks lock in on that end, they have the talent and depth to beat anyone, but they need to do it every night and not just against struggling teams like the Pacers.