New York Knicks star Josh Hart he was once a Philadelphia sports icon. Now, fans may not be so keen to anoint his status as a legend.
The former Villanova University standout, who won a national championship with the Wildcats in 2016, fired shots at the city's sports fans after the Knicks completed a four-game sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, May 1,0 in the second round of the NBA Playoffs.
“I thought Philly was a sports town,” Hart, 31, told reporters. “I don't know if it's there yet.”
He added, “Everybody was rooting for Philly [fans] don't sell their tickets. It never felt like a road game.”
The Knicks defeated the Sixers, 144-114, as the XFinity Mobile Arena was transformed into Madison Square Garden West, with New York fans cheering on TV.
“It's really amazing,” the Sixers star guard Tyrese Maxey he told reporters after Game 4. “That's all I can say about it. It's tough. It's tough.”
Maxey, 25, continued, “There's only one way to stop it, and we've got to go out there and win these games. To be completely honest, we've been better at The Garden all season. I know we lost Game 2 and 1, but Game 2 was better, and the regular season was better. I was telling them, it's louder here than at The Garden.”
On Sunday, the Knicks took Sixers fans out of the game almost overnight. New York led 81-57 at halftime thanks to 18 three-pointers in the first half, which tied the NBA record. Hart hit three threes in this game Miles McBride went 7-for-9 from long range.
“Strength was a big gap between their strength and our strength, I think,” the Sixers coach Nick Nurse he admitted after the game.
While the Knicks fans booed Philadelphia on the court, the players themselves were very quiet in their victory.
“No rest, no fun. Just another step,” Hart said. “The way we beat Boston last year, coming back and all that, it was — I don't want to say it was a celebration — but it's a little different. Here, it's business as usual, and we have to make sure we're locked in and focused.”
With the win, the Knicks advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second year in a row. They will face the winner of the ongoing series between the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers.
