Josh Hart’s 53-minute effort overshadowed by critical missed free throw in final seconds

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.

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“So you [have to] know what the situation is, and I gotta take that one on the chin and not let it happen again.”

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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.

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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.”

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