Sep 23, 2025; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks guard Josh Hart speaks to the media during a media day press conference at the Madison Square Garden training center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

'He’s a Monster' – New York Knicks Forward Draws Huge Compliment for His Phenomenal Season Debut Vs. Boston Celtics

Originally posted on Hardwood Heroics | By Jordan Samar | Last updated Oct 25, 2025 7:12 AM ET

Josh Hart made his season debut against the Boston Celtics after recovering from back spasms, and the New York Knicks forward played a massive role in the team’s 105-95 win at Madison Square Garden.

The Villanova product did much of the dirty work for the New York Knicks, as Hart came off the bench and contributed two points, 14 rebounds, and three assists in 19 minutes, drawing praise from head coach Mike Brown.

“Josh, man, a monster monster, monster night,” Brown said about Hart via Ian Begley of SNY. “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.”

Nov 20, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

“To have the game he had in that short amount of time is phenomenal to watch,” he added. “It adds to our team, it adds to the versatility of our team. To the defensive end of the floor, when it comes to us guarding and being able to do a lot of different things.”

New York Knicks stars rave about the team’s defense vs. Boston Celtics

The New York Knicks trailed at the start of the game against the Boston Celtics, but they turned things around in the second period, outscoring them 42-14, which made all the difference.

“I Love the Knicks” - Knicks Predicted to be in the NBA Finals By Former All-Star 1 May 29, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) and center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) and guard Josh Hart (3) react in the fourth quarter against the Indiana Pacers during game five of the eastern conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

“It starts with defense,” Jalen Brunson said. “When we’re clicking on defense and getting stops, we’re able to do that. We can’t have fast break points if we’re not getting stops; we just have to continue to do that.”

“I thought we did a great job of recovering from the first quarter, playing great defense. Initiated our offense, we did a great job of that,” Karl-Anthony Towns added. “Second half, we got a little sloppy with the ball, our defense kept it together and kept us in the lead and gave us enough room for error to come out with the win.”