May 14, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) is bloodied after taking an elbow to the eye in the first half during game five of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

Knicks Star: 'No One Really Cared' About Josh Hart's Game 5 Incident

Originally posted on New York Knicks on SI
By Geoff Magliocchetti | Last updated May 21, 2025 5:30 PM ET

Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks have had quite enough of the whole bloody affair.

The enduring image of the Knicks' monumental upset of the Boston Celtics in the 2025 Eastern Conference semifinals is no doubt Josh Hart's bloody face after enduring a not-so-pleasant encounter with Luke Kornet's elbow during Game 5 of the six-showing set.

With the Knicks' advancement to the Eastern Conference Finals giving them a chance to laugh about the incident, Hart's teammate, close friend, and "Roommates Show" co-host Brunson joked that Hart's gash didn't do much to push New York into a Friday closeout at Madison Square Garden.

Jalen Brunson on how the Knicks reacted to Josh Hart's eye injury in Game 5: "No one really cared - I think he deserved it"

Jalen adds that he's happy Josh is okay pic.twitter.com/Xs1AHx5raC
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 19, 2025

"Our team? No one really cared," Brunson joked in video from SNY as the Knicks prepped for the Indiana Pacers. "Josh, I think he deserved it. But I'm happy he's okay."

The incident occurred early in the fifth game, when the Knicks were trying to secure the series clincher at TD Garden. Though advancement was not to be that night, Hart returned to the game to score a Knicks-best 24 points in the 127-102 defeat.

Despite the loss, it was perhaps the perfect personification of Hart's hustle and impact amidst the Knicks' most successful season in a quarter-century. Hart has frequently been lauded as the heart (pun intended) and soul of the modern Knicks, who tip off against the Pacers in the ECF on Wednesday night (8 p.m. ET, TNT).

About 48 hours after enduring the gash at the incidental hands of Kornet, Hart and the Knicks handled business in Game 6 at Madison Square Garden, bashing Boston by a 119-81 shellacking on Friday night. Hart earned a 10-point, 11-assist, 11-rebound box score, becoming the first New Yorker to earn a triple-double in a playoff game since franchise legend Walt "Clyde" Frazier did so in 1972.

This article first appeared on New York Knicks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: