Josh Hart says he is ‘not in a good head space’ after a scoreless night and a fourth-quarter benching in Indiana

Josh Hart did not have an answer for his slow start after the New York Knicks lost 106-104 to the Indiana Pacers on Friday night, and he said the problem is not only his shot. “Right now I’m not in a good head space and I got to figure out how to improve that. And improve my play,” Hart said. Asked what he meant, he said: “Just mentally. Got to be better mentally. Got to figure stuff out.”

Hart went 0-of-4 from the field, including 0-of-3 from three, and finished with no points, five rebounds and four assists in 23 minutes. He was -11. Mike Brown kept him on the bench for the entire fourth quarter as the Knicks came back from 14 down in the third and lost when Karl-Anthony Towns missed a turnaround jumper in the final second.

Josh Hart is “not in a good headspace,” he said. He and the rest of the Knicks’ starting wings are trying to recover from a slow start.

Story: https://t.co/SZEdHD4AoO pic.twitter.com/DQZgFEbHMn

— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) November 14, 2026

Josh Hart after the Knicks’ loss in Indianapolis. Posted by Fred Katz on X.

‘Wish I could tell you’

When he was asked how he can get back on track, Hart said he did not know. “Wish I could tell you,” he said. “Don’t know.” He added, “Just have to be better. Have to be better mentally. I just gotta get my mental right,” and did not go further into it.

The numbers explain why the question keeps coming up. Friday was Hart’s sixth straight game with fewer than 10 points. Through nine games he is averaging 7.3 points on 36.2% shooting, and he is 13-of-44 (29.5%) from three after shooting 41.3% from deep last season. It was his second game back after missing about a week with ankle soreness and then an illness.

Hart also hinted at the bigger picture in New York, where the roster is crowded with guards and wings and minutes have been uneven. Brown has leaned on Landry Shamet and Miles McBride off the bench. “There are several different ways you can look at it,” Hart said. “You can look at it, if they have it going, cool. Good. You could look at it like, ‘OK, maybe something else has to change.’” He did not say what that change would be.

Josh Hart "not in a good head space" after being benched Friday night. https://t.co/AQpIDq9vHF

— Stefan Bondy (@SbondyNBA) November 14, 2026

Josh Hart after being benched in the fourth quarter on Friday. Posted by Stefan Bondy on X.

A calf, then an ankle

Before the game, Hart explained why his start has been slower than usual. He said he tweaked his calf in September and missed about three weeks, which cost him the conditioning work he normally does at the end of the summer after a long playoff run. Then he hurt his ankle in training camp. “So, the ramp up was a little bit slower than I kinda wanted it to be or kinda liked it to be, so I think that’s the biggest thing is just getting my legs under me,” Hart said.

He said he likes the shots he is getting. “All three of my 3s was just hella short. It was just, those legs, get those legs under me,” he said of Wednesday’s loss to Cleveland. “It’s cumulative of six, seven weeks of just not much activity basketball-wise. So, I think that’s just what it is. So, as the season progresses and I’m out there running more, doing all those kinds of things, the performance will follow.”

Hart also said the Knicks’ pace is hurting him, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby. New York came into Friday last in the league at about 95 possessions a game. “There’s less chances at the rim,” Hart said. “[Mike Brown] says Mikal is the best runner in the league. So if you have the best runner in the league and you’re not running, you’re wasting one of his talents.” His fix was to push the ball faster, even if Jalen Brunson is not the one bringing it up. “We gotta get the ball out and sometimes that might have to be [Brunson] just running and not going to the ball after a make or a defensive rebound,” he said.

Josh Hart says team’s slow pace is impacting wing production. Plus, Hart reveals injury that set back his start. https://t.co/HKukFdlQKQ

— Stefan Bondy (@SbondyNBA) November 13, 2026

Hart on the Knicks’ pace and his injuries. Posted by Stefan Bondy on X.

The rest of the Knicks’ wings

Hart is not the only starting wing searching for shots. Bridges had 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting in Indiana, after coming in at 33% from the field, but Anunoby scored 11 on 4-of-13. Asked why he has missed more at the rim this season, Anunoby said, “Not sure.” He added: “It’s early. We’re not where we wanna be, but it’s November. Everything needs to be better.” Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 points and 15 rebounds, and Jalen Brunson scored 33 with 11 assists. More on the game: Indiana Pacers hold off New York Knicks 106-104 in NBA Cup as Jalen Brunson’s 33 falls short.

Hart is eligible for an extension, but the Knicks said in October that they had shut down extension talks, including his and Towns’. New York is 6-6 and plays the Toronto Raptors twice in three days, on Sunday and Tuesday in Toronto.