Watch: Knicks' Josh Hart gets pawsitively smitten by adorable golden doodle
Josh Hart was back in LA as the New York Knicks visited the LA Lakers. Before the game, Hart was greeted by a special guest. He was seen smitten and loving on an adorable canine companion courtside during warm ups. The dog was none other than Brodie the golden doodle.
Brodie is no ordinary dog. He has his own instagram under @brodiethatdood. The account has one million followers. That's more than most NBA players, including Hart, who has 728K on the gram.
You can watch the exchange between the two below:
Brodie was wearing an Austin Reaves jersey as he attended the game between the Lakers and Knicks. He even featured on the main NBA Instagram page. Just another day in the life of a social media influencer dog.
Josh Hart and the Knicks take down the Lakers
Josh Hart won on his return to LA. Josh Hart, as the Knicks beat the Lakers 114-109. New York was powered by a big fourth quarter from Jalen Brunson
Brunson scored 11 of his 29 in the final period. It was enough to get past another LeBron James' triple-double. It was the 109th career triple-double for James, who had 25 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
Julius Randle helped out his running mate Brunson with 27 points and 14 rebounds. Hart scored six off the bench. Immanuel Quickley was key as well, with 20 points as a reserve.
The Knicks held on to their lead as the Lakers attempted a rally. New York took control of the game with a big third quarter, outscoring LA 33-22, which LA couldn't close.
New York also overcame big games from Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves. Davis had 32 points and 14 rebounds in the loss. Reaves added 20 points and seven rebounds off the bench. He was the only other contributor as the Lakers shot 33.3 percent outside Davis and James.
James missed a key 3-pointer with 40 seconds left that would have cut the lead to two. Randle got an easy bucket at the other end to seal the win.
New York won the game without starting center Mitchel Robinson. Isaiah Hartenstein played 39 minutes in his place, recording nnine points and 17 rebounds.
Before the game, the Lakers revealed a new banner. They raised a small banner to the rafters to celebrate their In-Season Tournament win. The banner was black with space to add more NBA Cup titles.