Villanova in the Pros: Jalen Brunson’s OT Winner; Josh Hart Nets 30

The Villanova Knicks won both legs of their back-to-back heading into the All-Star Break, dropping the Indiana Pacers 128-115 on Tuesday, Feb. 11 before surviving the Atlanta Hawks 149-148 in overtime the following day.

Josh Hart proved instrumental in the win over the Pacers, dropping 30 points along with ten rebounds, five assists and two steals, making 12 of 16 shots from the field in his highest scoring game of the season… and second best since joining the Knicks in February 2023.

In a game where Jalen Brunson — who will start in the All-Star Game for the first time in his career on Sunday, Feb. 16 — played just 23 minutes due to foul trouble, racking up his fifth foul barely three minutes into the second half, Hart stepped up in a big way, helping New York solidify their hold on the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference: Indiana, currently in the No. 4 spot, sits a distant 5.5 games behind them with 28 games to play.

Brunson stepped up in the second half of the back-to-back, playing 43 minutes and dropping 36 points and eight assists, including the eventual game-winner, a go-ahead pullup jump shot with 11.1 seconds left to play in overtime. Then it was fellow Villanova teammate Mikal Bridges who got in on the action, blocking a driving shot from Hawks’ star Trae Young that helped New York maintain the lead.

Hart, meanwhile, flirted with a triple-double, putting up 18 points, ten rebounds and six assists in 46 minutes just a day after playing a team high 40 minutes.

After the break, New York will be back in action on Thursday, Feb. 20 when they host the Chicago Bulls.