Josh Hart was defending by any means necessary in Friday’s elimination Game 6.
The New York Knicks guard Hart was on the receiving end of a disgusting moment during his team’s second-round playoff game against the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. In the second quarter, Hart switched defensively onto Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis in the post.
While Hart was attempting to guard him, Porzingis brought the ball up over his head and pivoted. As a result, Hart got an entire faceful of Porzingis’ (presumably very sweaty) armpit. Take a look at the video.
Josh Hart all up in Kristaps Porzingis' armpit. pic.twitter.com/SJBZ21joCc
— (@_MarcusD3_) May 17, 2025
Hart was actually called for a foul on the play after proceeding to bump Porzingis on his shot attempt. At 6-foot-4, Hart gives up a ton of height to the 7-foot-2 Porzingis, so perhaps Hart’s mid-game … meal … was always going to be the outcome with that kind of matchup in the post.
It was probably worth it though for Hart, strangely enough. Porzingis ended up splitting his two ensuing free throws as the Knicks remained in complete control of the game (taking a 64-37 advantage into the halftime buzzer).
That said, Hart was certainly been taking ones for the team throughout the Knicks’ series against the Celtics. In Game 5 on Wednesday, Hart found himself badly bloodied by a Luke Kornet elbow and then got his nuts grabbed by Jaylen Brown later on in the very same game.
