Once again, Hart was able to make his presence felt despite not contributing much as a scorer. He led both teams in rebounds and led the Knicks in assists in the loss. Hart is certainly capable of getting hot, but his role is to do a lot of the other little things to help New York win. Expect him to continue to stuff the stat sheet for the remainder of this series.

Hart, who recorded a double-double in Game 1, finished Friday’s victory with his first triple-double of these playoffs. While the Celtics were willing to live with him taking shots throughout the series, the Knicks wing was not consistently impactful as a secondary playmaker. That wasn’t the case in Game 6, with Hart hitting double digits in assists and committing just two turnovers. He’ll likely encounter a similar defensive approach in the conference finals, with the Knicks taking on the Pacers. Game 1 is on Wednesday.

Things didn’t start off well for Hart. He got hit right above his eye on an elbow from Luke Kornet, which resulted in a lot of blood on his face and uniform. He got cleaned up and was given a new jersey, and it didn’t impact his shot. It wasn’t enough for New York to wrap up the series, and they’ll head home for Game 6 on Friday. This was Hart’s highest-scoring performance of the postseason, and his most points in a game since before the All-Star break. He’ll look to carry some of this shooting success with him to Madison Square Garden.