Kyrie Irving: Celtics 'Just Gotta Play Better' After 'Tough' Loss vs. Rockets

The Boston Celtics are 1-5 in their last six games, and Kyrie Irving didn't have much to say after Sunday's 115-104 loss to the Houston Rockets at TD Garden.

"It was tough," he said after the loss, per Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston.

Irving was asked how he planned to turn things around as a self-described leader of the team, and he replied: "Just gotta play better."

The Duke product and frustration have gone hand in hand for much of the season.

He ripped the media for analyzing a video of him and Kevin Durant talking during the All-Star break, was visibly frustrated when he didn't get the ball at the end of a loss to the Orlando Magic and "has repeatedly aired his grievances about Boston's young players," per Tim Bontemps of ESPN.com.

Bontemps also pointed out Irving's future with the team is in question after he said "ask me July 1" when asked about his upcoming free agency, even though he told fans he would return prior to the 2018-19 campaign.

As for Sunday's game, he posted 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. It wasn't enough to counter impressive performances from James Harden (42 points) and Eric Gordon (32 points), though, as Boston fell 2.5 games behind the fourth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in the race for home-court advantage in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Talent isn't the issue, seeing how the Celtics reached last season's Eastern Conference Finals even while Irving and Gordon Hayward were sidelined.

Still, something is off, and Irving knows the team has to play better if it is going to fulfill hopes of reaching the NBA Finals with LeBron James no longer serving as a roadblock in the East.