LAS VEGAS -- The New York Knicks' run through the knockout stages and into Tuesday's Emirates NBA Cup title game could have been put at risk before it even started. But a meeting between first-year coach Mike Brown and guard Josh Hart might have been the difference in keeping New York's season on track.
After Hart started the year in a reserve role and was benched in the fourth quarter for multiple games in November, Brown called for a meeting with the 30-year-old veteran. It led to Hart's reinsertion in the starting five and the Knicks winning nine of 10, re-establishing them as a power in the East.