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The Spurs Losing Game 4 Robbed Us of an All-Time Josh Hart Choke
By Matt Schultz
Published:
The Spurs lost Game 4 to the Knicks on Wednesday night after being up as many as 29 points. They blew the game. They blew the chance to even the series at two games apiece. They probably blew their shot at winning the Finals. But maybe most importantly of all, they blew a golden opportunity to stain Josh Hart’s career with an iconic choke job.
With under two minutes left in the game, Knicks down by one, the Spurs turned the ball over, leaving Josh Hart all alone on a breakaway to the cup. Hart went up for the layup and did this:
As bad as it is watching it back, it felt even more monumentally disastrous in the moment. Larry David had this reaction, which looked very similar to mine as I fell off my couch:
It was an incredible moment: A truly inexplicable and unforgivable miss at the worst possible time, calling to mind Patrick Ewing’s iconic missed finger roll against the Pacers in Game 7 of the 1995 Eastern Conference semifinals. “Patrick Ewing! He Patrick Ewinged! This fucking idiot! I can’t believe he Ewinged it!” I shouted giddily from the ground, kicking my legs about with glee.
Josh Hart recreating the Patrick Ewing missed layup, was eerie.
— Prime (@OptimistPrime99) June 11, 2026
I thought that was it. I thought the game was over. The air was completely sucked out of MSG. I didn’t think the Knicks could regain the momentum. I could feel balance being restored in the universe, the pendulum finally swinging back – the Knicks’ run had been going way too well; here, at long last, were the scales of justice evening out with the utter misery Knicks fans are meant to live through. This was the kick in the nads Knicks fans needed and deserved. I was glad the game got as close as it did. That would make this loss that much more painful for them.
And I couldn’t have been more thrilled that the game-blowing mistake was coming at the hands of Josh Hart, the new Draymond Green (a try-hard, a pest, a dirty player, thinks he’s way more important than he is, talks the most shit on the floor despite being the seventh best player on his team), the poster child for Perfect Player to Sports Hate. This mistake would follow Josh Hart around for the rest of his life. Everywhere he went, every room he entered, he would hear the faint whispers behind his back: “That’s the dipshit who Ewinged the layup.” He might never be the same. This could get in his head. This could be a Nick Anderson situation. This could be the end of Josh Hart as we know him. Yes… Such wonderful thoughts… Everything was coming together…
Then this happened:
The Knicks won the game, and Josh Hart knew he got bailed out:
“This game was crazy… I got a special shoutout for OG, man, cause he saved me, at least for this game, but a… a lifetime of, you know, regret.”
Not sure I’ll ever forgive the Spurs for letting Hart slide on this one. Could’ve been a real special thing. Anyway, Spurs in 7.
Matt Schultz is a comedy and sports writer from Philadelphia. He’s written extensively for ClickHole, The Onion, and Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco. His work has been featured in Vulture, Deadspin, The A.V. Club, Paste Magazine, and other publications. Much of his sports journalism can be found on college basketball websites that don’t exist anymore (PhilaHoops Heads rise up…) email: M.Schultz@sportradar.com