Knicks beat Trail Blazers, 123-114

Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News on Jan 11, 2026

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Josh Hart is back, and so are the New York Knicks — in the win column.

Hart returned to the lineup after missing eight straight games with a right ankle sprain sustained on Christmas Day, and the playmaking forward made big plays on both ends of the floor. He finished with 18 points and six assists, shooting three of five from downtown in a 123-114 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers Sunday.

“I just try to do what I do and bring toughness and physicality,” Hart said in his walk-off interview at the Moda Center. “I wasn’t as physical as I wanted to be tonight, but we’ve gotta do a good job of making it difficult.”

After losing five of their last six games and trending downward on both ends of the floor with the veteran forward out of the lineup, the Knicks returned to form when they needed to most.

This is the team they hope can make a run in the Eastern Conference this season.

On Sunday, all five Knicks starters scored 18 points or more, with Jalen Brunson leading the way with 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field to go with eight assists and six rebounds. Karl-Anthony Towns, too, looked rejuvenated with 20 points and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes.

Hart surprised himself when he made his first two 3s of the game.

“Definitely thought I was gonna get a little bit of rest off but I saw [Portland center Donovan] Clingan was sagging off me. I said ‘I gotta let this one fly,'” he said. “When I get disrespected out there, I’ve gotta go out there and play my game.”

It’s the hustle plays, however, that the Knicks missed most. Hart came up with the 50-50 balls that have defined his NBA career.

“Offense is complementary,” he said. “What I bring to this team is toughness, physicality, those extra effort plays, plays that get guys going. That’s what I try to do.

“Offense, it’ll be there some games. Some not. But I build my game off of toughness.”

The Knicks gave up 48 combined points to Portland’s Deni Avdija (25) and Shaedon Sharpe (23), and Caleb Love hit five 3s for 21 points off the Trail Blazer bench. But New York held all other Portland players to 12 or fewer points. Avidja limped off the court with what appeared to be a lower back injury late in the fourth quarter.

The Knicks upgraded Hart to available Sunday after practice in Phoenix following Friday’s loss to the Suns.

New York went 3-5 with Hart on the sidelines and were unrecognizable with their Swiss-army knife out of the rotation.

The Knicks ranked 28th out of 30 teams in defensive rating over their last eight games, allowing 122.5 points per 100 possessions. Conversely, on offense, New York’s 117 points scored per 100 possessions keeps them in the top-10 (ninth) during that span but have seen an uptick in turnovers and a lack of ball movement before the two games leading into the game Sunday.

Yet with Hart in the rotation, the Knicks improved to 12-3 after the win over the Trail Blazers.

Hart entered the night averaging 12.3 points, eight rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.4 steals on a career-best 38.9% clip from 3-point range. He said he spent his time on the sidelines dissecting how he can better serve the team upon his return.

“When you’re watching it, you also hear the announcers and hear some of the stats, and they said it’s either 20 or more games where we were trailing after the first quarter, and we were 19-0 with a lead headed into the fourth quarter until the San Antonio game. So more than 65% of our games, we’re not starting the game off right, whether that’s the starters, the guys coming in right off the bench to start the quarter,” Hart said. “So no matter what I’m doing, I’ve gotta make sure I bring the physicality and toughness to start the game and have that be a contagious thing and if guys aren’t doing that, hold them accountable.”

The Knicks outscored the Suns, 20-10, in the fourth quarter after several late-game meltdowns during their losing run. Next up, two important days of rest before a back-to-back in Sacramento against the Kings then San Francisco against the Golden State Warriors.

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