Josh Hart denies ‘egos’ and ‘agendas’ comments were about specific Knick

Josh Hart caused a mini controversy this month by twice declaring after defeats that the Knicks needed to drop their “egos” and “agendas,” prompting speculation that spilled into sports talk radio over who he was referencing.

The forward clarified those remarks after Tuesday’s 99-95 win over the Nets, saying it was blown out of proportion.

“Y’all look too much into everything. That’s what y’all do,” Hart said. “I said something about egos and y’all took that and ran with it. To win, you have to have a team that don’t have egos.

Josh Hart, who scored seven points, to go along with 12 rebounds and nine assists, drives on Tyrese Martin during the Knicks’ 99-95 win over the Nets on Jan. 21, 2025. Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

“That’s why Boston won. They have a team that doesn’t have egos. You got Jrue Holiday that’s been an All-Star, All-Defense, All-NBA, max player. He don’t give a damn about scoring. So that’s the ego-less attitude that we have to have. There was no pinpointing somebody. But that’s what you have to have to win.”

Asked last week about Hart’s comments, coach Tom Thibodeau said he was unaware of the words but added, “Oftentimes the next day after you look at the film, you’re putting a mic in front of someone right after a game. And sometimes they may say things, we all may say things that we wish we had not said until you watch the film the next day. And then there’s usually a pretty good reason why something occurred. So before you say something, you probably should think.”

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NBA STANDINGS AND KNICKS STATS

Karl-Anthony Towns acknowledged his injured thumb has affected his 3-point shot — “for sure,” he said — after the center went 0-for-3 from beyond the arc.

“It is what it is,” he repeated.

Early in the game, Towns appeared to aggravate the thumb on his shooting hand and later airballed a trey. He was quickly subbed out and rewrapped the thumb with white tape. Towns otherwise played well, demonstrating his versatility from inside while scoring 25 points.

“I work hard on my game,” he said. “I’m not just a 3-point shooter.”

Since returning Monday from the thumb injury — which includes both a sprain and bone chip — Towns has made 1 of his 9 3-pointers.

MSG Networks said it is willing to resolve its impasse with cable company Altice through arbitration.

The station has been off Altice’s Optimum since Jan. 1 because the two sides could not reach a contractual agreement.

“We are willing to agree to a short extension tied to resolving our dispute through binding arbitration by a neutral, third party,” MSG Networks’ statement read. “This will enable Optimum subscribers to watch their favorite sports programming while we resolve our outstanding issues.”