Knicks' Josh Hart suffers bloody cut over eye in team's loss to Celtics

New York Knicks guard Josh Hart was busted open early in the team’s Game 5 loss to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.

Hart suffered the injury late in the first quarter and had to leave the game. He had a cut over his eye after taking an elbow to the face. He needed stitches to close the gash.

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New York Knicks guard Josh Hart, #3, is bloodied after taking an elbow to the eye in the first half during game five of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden in Boston on May 14, 2025. (Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images)

Still, Hart led the Knicks with 24 points in a losing effort.

"Eye’s peachy," Hart told reporters following the 127-105 loss, via the New York Post.

It was far from the only intense incident of the night. Hart and Jaylen Brown got tied up in the third quarter and needed to be separated. The two got into a pushing contest after Brown got caught on a Hart screen.

"It was just two guys that are extremely competitive," Hart said. "He’s a passionate, competitive player. We were tied at halftime, he’s trying to give their team a spark and momentum and the same thing with me."

New York Knicks guard Josh Hart, #3, on the ground during game five of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden in Boston on May 14, 2025. (Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images)

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Hart and Brown appeared to let cooler heads prevail after the game.

Brown had 26 points and 12 assists as he stepped up in a huge way to pull to within one game of tying the series. He needed to bear the brunt of the responsibility of getting Boston back into the series following Jayson Tatum’s devastating injury. 

"We did what was necessary to do what we needed to do to get it back to New York," Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said. "You don’t get to pick the test that you have, you pick how you respond to them."

New York Knicks guard Josh Hart, #3, drives to the basket against Boston Celtics center Luke Kornet, #40, during the second half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Derrick White led Boston with 34 points, nailing seven 3-pointers.

"Losing JT is tough," White said. "But we’ve got a lot of guys that are highly competitive, and we didn’t want the season to end tonight."

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Game 6 is back in New York on Friday night.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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