Knicks wing Josh Hart and All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns both logged triple doubles during a historic performance against the reeling Mavericks on Tuesday night, writes Chris Herring of ESPN. Hart and Towns became the first New York players to simultaneously achieve the feat, Herring writes.
In the 128-113 win, Towns notched 26 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. Hart, meanwhile, logged 16 points, 12 boards, and 11 dimes. Herring reports that this marked just the 17th time ever two NBA teammates each secured triple doubles in the same bout.
Hart recorded his ninth triple double of the 2024/25 season, besting Hall of Famer Walt Frazier‘s previous record of eight in 1968/69. This is Towns’ first triple double of the year.
“I didn’t envision this,” Hart said. “This is more than I ever dreamed of.”
“[Hart’s] got nine this season; I’ve got one,” Towns remarked. “But the way he does it is special. It’s always with effort and for the betterment of the team. I’m just happy there’s a way to see on the stat sheet the impact he’s having on the game. He sacrifices so much for the team, so I’m happy that he can have this moment.”
There’s more out of the Big Apple:
The Knicks’ big man tandem of Towns and Mitchell Robinson is considered to be “a work in progress” even by head coach Tom Thibodeau, although metrics indicate that the dynamic duo is yielding appetizing early returns, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscriber link). Robinson has played just 10 games this season due to injury.
Knicks rookie wing Kevin McCullar Jr. made his league debut during Tuesday’s Dallas clash, and scored his first NBA points in three minutes of action, Bondy notes in another article. For McCullar’s achievement, Hart award the young guard the game ball. McCullar had been shelved until Tuesday due to a knee injury. “It’s been rough, but I kept my head on straight,” McCullar said. “Adversity makes you who you are and everybody goes through it in different ways of life… Growing up, that’s all I’ve known is playing basketball.”
Knicks reserve guard Miles McBride sat out a third straight game for New York with a left groin strain, per Newsday’s Steve Popper (Twitter link McBride). Robinson, in a bit of a surprise, played twice in a back-to-back slate of games. Per Ian Begley of SNY.tv (via Twitter), Thibodeau revealed that McBride was “limited” during the team’s latest practice.