New York Knicks star Josh Hart was once a Philadelphia sports icon. Now, fans might not be as eager to anoint him legend status.
The former Villanova University standout, who won a national championship with the Wildcats in 2016, took a shot at the city’s sports fans after the Knicks finished off a dominant four-game sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, May 1,0 in the second round of the NBA Playoffs.
“I used to think Philly was a sports town,” Hart, 31, told reporters. “I don’t know if it is anymore.”
He added, “Everybody was begging for Philly [fans] not to sell their tickets. It never felt like a road game.”
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The Knicks dominated the Sixers, 144-114, as XFinity Mobile Arena seemingly transformed into Madison Square Garden West, with New York fans’ cheers dominating the TV broadcast.
“It absolutely sucks,” Sixers star guard Tyrese Maxey told reporters after Game 4. “That’s all I can really say about it. It’s hard. It’s definitely difficult.”
Maxey, 25, continued, “There’s only one way to put a stop to it, and we have to go out there and win these games. Just being completely honest, we were better when we played them in The Garden the entire season. I know we lost games 2 and 1, but Game 2 was better, and the regular season was better. I was telling them, it just felt louder here for them than it did in The Garden.”
On Sunday, the Knicks took Sixers fans out of the game almost instantly. New York led 81-57 at halftime thanks to 18 made threes in the first half, which matched an NBA record. Hart himself hit four threes for the game while Miles McBride went 7-for-9 from long distance.
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“The energy was a big gap between their energy and our energy, I thought,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse conceded after the game.
While Knicks fans were drowning out Philadelphia’s in the arena, the players themselves were much quieter in victory.
“No relief, no jubilation. Just another step in the process,” Hart said. “The way we beat Boston last year, the comebacks and all that, it was —- I don’t want to say it was celebratory — but it hit a little bit differently. Here, it’s business as normal, and we got to make sure we’re locked in and focused.”
With the win, the Knicks advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight year. They will face the winner of the ongoing series between the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers.
