Josh Hart put forth another yeoman effort, playing every minute of the game — this time including five minutes of overtime — for the second time in this series.
Following his full 53-minute stint on the court and a near triple-double, however, Hart lamented missing one of two free throws that would have given the Knicks a four-point lead with 15.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter, helping the Sixers to tie the score and stay alive in the series with a 112-106 overtime victory.
“That’s all it really comes down to right now. A mistake here or there, a missed shot here or there, a missed free throw here or there, so we gotta make sure we’re sharp mentally,” Hart said after the Game 5 defeat. “I missed a free throw with what, less than 10 seconds left? And if I made both, we win.
“So you [have to] know what the situation is, and I gotta take that one on the chin and not let it happen again.”
Jalen Brunson also missed a key technical free throw on a flagrant foul by Joel Embiid late in overtime, and the All-Star point guard also committed a turnover with the Knicks down two late in the extra session.
“Extremely [disappointing]. That’s a game we should have won,” Hart said.
Hart has had an excellent series throughout, contributing 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists in Game 5.
He is averaging 17.0 points, 12.0 boards and 4.0 assists in 46.4 minutes per game in the series.
He also played a full 48 minutes in Game 2, and no fewer than 42 in any of the five games.
“Yeah, just a lot of icing, cold tub, soft tissue work. And then just gotta get shots up,” Hart said about Wednesday’s off-day before the series shifts back to Philadelphia for Game 6 on Thursday night. “The mindset is to get a win. I think it’s nothing different.
“Nothing has changed in terms of how we’re preparing or the objective. That’s the same.”
