Josh Hart has 14 rebounds in 19 minutes in his season debut for Knicks after preseason back injury

NEW YORK (AP) — Josh Hart knew he wouldn’t be able to count on his offense Friday night after missing three weeks with a back injury.

Luckily for the New York Knicks, few players can impact a game like Hart without scoring.

Hart had 14 rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench in his season debut, helping the Knicks beat the Boston Celtics 105-95 for a 2-0 start.

“Josh, man, a monster, monster, monster night,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said.

“He guarded everybody. Not only did he guard everybody, he had six offensive rebounds, eight defensive rebounds. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen this before, 14 rebounds in 19 minutes. Just a phenomenal, phenomenal game doing the dirty stuff.”

Hart was hurt Oct. 2 in the preseason opener, when he grabbed a defensive rebound early in the second quarter and was dribbling the ball upcourt and slipped and fell in front of the Philadelphia 76ers bench.

Hart said he didn’t know what caused the injury, because it came on a normal play. He had practiced some since, though not with any 5-on-5 scrimmaging. He was listed as out with lumbar spasms in the season-opening victory over Cleveland on Wednesday.

“I knew the offense was going to be a little shaky first game back, so I had to do something to help the team,” Hart said.

The swingman came off the bench, with guard Deuce McBride being inserted into a three-guard lineup with center Mitchell Robinson (left ankle) still unavailable.

Hart wasn’t 100% even before the back injury. He underwent a procedure on his right ring finger in July after hurting it during the playoffs and aggravated the injury shortly before training camp, saying he expected to wear a splint this season.

But the finger injury couldn’t be blamed for his 1-for-8 shooting, including misses on all three 3-point attempts, while finishing with two points. Hart attributed that to another body part.

“I don’t know if you all could tell, but my last 3, I don’t even think it got to the rim,” Hart said. “My legs had got a little tired, but that’s the biggest thing at this point is just trying to get that wind and conditioning back.”

He had it for a key moment in the fourth quarter after the Celtics had cut a 24-point deficit to 10. The Knicks missed consecutive jumpers on a possession but Hart tracked down the rebound of both, feeding Jalen Brunson for a layup the second time with 5 1/2 minutes to play. Boston star Jaylen Brown said those kinds of plays were deflators.

Hart specializes in them. He broke Hall of Famer Walt Frazier’s season record with nine triple-doubles last season

“That’s what he does. He impacts the game with his energy,” Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns said.

Knicks forward OG Anunoby left in the fourth quarter after appearing to hurt his knee or upper thigh when he landed trying to block a shot. But Mike Brown said Anunoby was just cramping and could have gone back into the game.

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