The game between the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons is in the final minutes and things are not looking so great. Mostly for the Knicks. They’re facing a blowout loss while they’re down 96-64 in the fourth quarter. And late in the game, disaster has struck. Josh Hart left the game when the Knicks need his momentum the most. It ultimately culminated in the Knicks losing 118-80, ending their winning streak in a sad fashion.

The Knicks confirmed Hart hurt his ankle during the game. He left for the visitors locker room in Detroit’s Little Caesar’s Arena but there’s no update in his status yet. He likely won’t return to close the game this late. Hart had played 25 minutes but had only five points on a 2-of-7 shooting the entire time.

Hart may have exacerbated an existing injury. He had a sprained ankle that kept him out of Wednesday’s double overtime thriller against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday.

He was listed as questionable for tonight’s game and was upgraded to probably right before tip-off. He entered the game tonight but was clearly struggling on his foot.

Replays from the third quarter showed him catch the ball and making a drive for the other side when his leg buckled. The Knicks were down 54-80 when he went to the bench to get his foot taped.

The only thing that stood out in this whole thing was when Hart was carefully walking to the locker room, Pistons legend and former Knicks coach, Isiah Thomas, was prematurely celebrating with fellow fans and Hart had to go around him the long way to not ruin the fun. While the Internet gets Zeke’s enthusiasm, they aren’t very surprised about Hart’s exit. They instead question why the team risked serious injury to him when the Knicks are on a serious playoff bid.

Injury curse ends the Knicks’ winning streak

The Knicks have been on an explosive winning streak. It was cemented by the February 4 game where Nikola Jokic was back on the floor. New York extended its winning streak to eight in that overtime nailbiter. That game was shaky for the Knicks.

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Karl-Anthony Towns suffered a bloody gash but managed to return to the game. The Nuggets had injury exits of their own and Jokic nearly hurt his knee again.

Tonight, Towns was on the injury report with a right eye laceration from the previous game. OG Anunoby was also probable with a sore toe. Neither entered the game tonight. But Hart was cleared to play, a decision that didn’t sit well with fans.

The offense on the Knicks end was a complete dud tonight. While Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges had double digits, it showed that the team needs the rebounding efficiency of KAT and Mitchell Robinson against the physicality of the Pistons.

The Pistons held their top spot in the East while the Knicks staggered. It was so bad, James Dolan, who made the trip to Detroit left his courtside seat midway in the fourth quarter. (Given Dolan’s history with Isiah Thomas, this adds a new layer to Zeke’s enthusiasm.)

Fans are now concerned about how serious Hart’s injury could be. Especially at the prospect of the Pistons and Knicks having a rematch in the playoffs. They’re counting on the Knicks to get healthy soon and once more get back to their winning ways.