The Knicks didn’t need Jalen Brunson. They had his podcast partner.
Josh Hart dropped 33 points — his most since joining New York three years ago — as the Brunson-less Knicks went on a scoring binge Tuesday to beat the Pacers 136-110 at the Garden.
Hart, who played just 26 minutes and sat the entire fourth quarter because of the blowout, was nearly perfect while hitting all five of his 3s and shooting 12-for-13 overall.
He fell 11 points shy of his career high of 44, set in 2022 with the Trail Blazers. Hart’s previous best with the Knicks was 31.
“I think the main thing you talked about is him connecting the group,” coach Mike Brown gushed about Hart before the game, calling to mind a former NBA Finals MVP with the Warriors. “I’m not saying he is Andre Iguodala or his game is like Andre Iguodala’s, but there are a lot of similarities when you watch him.”
Tuesday’s game — a fourth straight win for the Knicks (45-25) — was their first in over two months without Brunson, who sat with a neck strain. The All-Star watched in street clothes as the Knicks took off without him.
Jose Alvarado, making his first start with the franchise, rose to the occasion with 16 points and 10 assists.
He entered the evening on a nine-game stretch without hitting a 3-pointer, missing all 11 of his attempts during that stretch.
Then Alvarado hit three treys before halftime against the Pacers, finishing 4-for-7 from deep.
The Knicks dropped 72 points in the first half, including 19 from Hart and 18 from OG Anunoby.
The lone inefficient shooter was again Mikal Bridges, whose night started inauspiciously — he twisted his ankle while badly missing a layup — and who had just four points at the break on 2-for-7 shooting.
Bridges finished with 10 points on 4-for-12 shooting.
It continued a slump for Bridges, whose confidence has looked shaken since the All-Star break.
Brown tried to be reassuring.
“Ball needs to go in the hoop, but anybody that goes through times like this, you always try to find ways to see it go in and you do that by getting out in transition, getting an offensive rebound and putback, making a cut backdoor, making a layup, attacking the rim, getting fouled, making it to the free-throw line and try to mix some of those things in,” Brown said, “because for a while he was shooting at a pretty elite level from behind that 3-point line and he’s been doing it for a while in terms of his career. So that hasn’t gone away. Sometimes you have a rhythm and sometimes you don’t.”
Bridges is out of rhythm, but it didn’t matter. The rest of the Knicks caught fire.
The Pacers (15-54) long ago committed to tanking and own the worst record in the league.
They lost Tyrese Haliburton for the season, and their second-best player, Pascal Siakam, was out Tuesday because of a knee problem.
Still, Indiana has played harder against the Knicks this season, which is probably related to a rivalry built on consecutive head-to-head playoff series.
On Tuesday, the Pacers led by six early but were quickly overwhelmed by New York’s hot shooting.
Especially Hart’s.
