Knicks’ Josh Hart shuts down applause for advancing past first round of NBA Playoffs

The New York Knicks dismantled the Atlanta Hawks in historic fashion to advance past the first round. Josh Hart played a pivotal role in the 51-point beatdown. Except Hart doesn’t want to hear anymore praise toward the Knicks during these NBA Playoffs.

Hart dished a blunt response on how he really feels about NYK moving to the second round.

“Not a damn thing. That’s not the goal,” Hart bluntly said. “The goal isn’t to advance to one series or two series.”

Josh Hart was asked what it says about the Knicks to be in the second round four years in a row:

"Not a damn thing. That's not the goal. The goal isn't to advance to one series or two series." pic.twitter.com/RyNCZGy8xG

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 3, 2026

He’s spearheading a newly focused Knicks bunch. One now led by Mike Brown as head coach. Yet Hart needed to change his mindset along with the rest of the team during the Hawks series.

“It shows the kind of team that we are, what we can be,” Hart said. “We knew we kinda gave two games away, so we wanted to come out and close out the series today.”

Hart and the Knicks received harsh criticism throughout the series. The critics arrived after the botched Game 2 loss which ended with a missed Mikal Bridges shot. Atlanta then took a 2-1 series lead in beating NYK 109-108 to win Game 3.

But those critics either fell silent or praised the Knicks again following the 51-point onslaught at State Farm Arena. Hart delivered 14 points with five rebounds and pulled it off through 27 minutes. Karl Anthony-Towns delivered a triple-double of hitting 12 points, 11 rebounds and dished 10 assists. OG Anunoby added a team-high 29 points to seal the rout.

Now the Knicks gets an annual rival in round two. The Philadelphia 76ers rolled past the Boston Celtics to set up the newest Knicks-Sixers showdown.

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