Hart: Knicks would be 'pleasantly surprised' if Randle, Anunoby return

New York Knicks wing Josh Hart is focused on the team's available players while forwards Julius Randle and OG Anunoby continue to rehab their respective shoulder and elbow injuries.

"I'm looking at it like this is the team we're going to have," said Hart when asked what he took away from his undermanned squad's performance Sunday, according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps.

The Knicks lost 113-112 to the Oklahoma City Thunder without Randle, Anunoby, and center Mitchell Robinson.

Hart added, "I'm not in those medical conversations or anything like that, so I don't know shit from shit. But we've got to approach every game and the end of this season that those guys aren't coming back, and if they do, be pleasantly surprised."

Both forwards were knocked out of the lineup after the Knicks' Jan. 27 game against the Miami Heat. Randle has missed the last 28 games due to a dislocated shoulder. He was originally slated to miss two-to-three weeks but remains limited to "controlled contact" workouts, according to Bontemps.

"Just keep doing what he's doing, day-to-day," head coach Tom Thibodeau said of Randle's rehab process. "You never know when it turns."

Anunoby missed 18 games after undergoing a procedure to remove a loose bone fragment in his elbow. He returned for three contests in March but has missed the last seven after his elbow flared up following a game against the Sacramento Kings.

Robinson returned to the lineup last week for the first time since Dec. 8 after undergoing ankle surgery. He was ruled out Sunday with a sprained ankle.

The Knicks have gone 15-13 since their Jan. 27 meeting with the Heat but have kept pace in the Eastern Conference and hold the fourth seed with a 44-30 record.