Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Knicks Star Calls Out Reporter Over Game 1 Message After Comeback vs. Celtics

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sean Deveney | Last updated May 6, 2025 4:58 PM ET

Josh Hart was angry. The Knicks star was angry not just because his team was traling by 20 points midway through the third period in Game 1 of their series against the defending-champion Boston Celtics on Monday night at TD Garden. He was angry because he saw a Knicks beat writer sending out messages on Twitter/X about the deficit.

The reporter in question, Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News wrote, once the Knicks fell behind by 20, "Celtics up 20. This one's over."

In his meeting with the media on Tuesday afternoon, Hart said that message was what fired him up.

Josh Hart: "I was playing angry. I saw Kristian’s tweet that the game was over when we were down 20, so I was playing angry after that.”

He then called @Krisplashed the MVP of the game. https://t.co/aBofjBHjhF
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) May 6, 2025

"I was playing angry. I saw Kristian’s tweet that the game was over when we were down 20, so I was playing angry after that,” Hart said.

Of course, Hart was joking, but there is little dount that both he and the team turned around their fortunes considerably once they fell behind, 75-55, on a Derrick White 3-pointer with just under six minutes to go in the third quarter. After that, the Knicks went on a 9-0 run to get right back into the game.

And while it is the Celtics' second-half shot selection--34 of their 41 shots were 3-pointers, and they made just nine of them--that has been the most prominent topic in the wake of a Knicks comeback that sent the game to overtime and, eventually, to a 108-105 win, the clutch play of the Knicks deserves some credit.

New York got 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting in the third quarter from OG Anunoby, and Jalen Brunson provided 11 points on 3-for-5 shooting in the fourth. The Knicks defense held Boston to a mere five points in overtime.

Game 2 of the series is up next, to be played again in Boston on Wednesday night.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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