Josh Hart Says It's 'Such a Stupid Question' if Knicks Must Win Game 6 vs. Celtics

After Wednesday's Game 5 loss to the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks forward Josh Hart wasn't in the mood to discuss the urgency to win the next matchup.

Per ESPN's Chris Herring, Hart had a testy response when asked if Friday's Game 6 is considered a must-win situation.

"That's such a stupid question. Every game you want to win, bro," Hart said. "Every game, you want to go out and compete. Obviously we didn't do that. But the next game is the next game, and that's all we're focusing on."

The Knicks had a prime opportunity to eliminate the defending champs on Wednesday but faltered in the second half, as the Celtics pulled away for a 127-102 win. The teams were tied 59-59 at halftime before Boston outscored New York 32-17 in the third quarter and 36-26 in the fourth.

"That third quarter was terrible. From the top down, it was a terrible quarter," Hart said.

Hart, who was bloodied in the first half after taking an inadvertent elbow to the face, led the Knicks with 24 points in the loss.

The Celtics were playing without star forward Jayson Tatum, who suffered a torn Achilles in Monday's Game 4. Still, Boston showed its championship mettle and refused to go down easily.

Despite Hart's objections to the question, Friday's Game 6 is a must-win for the Knicks so they can avoid going back to Boston for Game 7. New York hasn't closed out a playoff series at Madison Square Garden since 1999, so the team may need to exorcise those demons to make the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000.