All of the Knicks wished for Christmas was a five-game profitable streak. At Madison Sq. Backyard, Santa Claus wore No. 25.
Mikal Bridges delivered his most interesting efficiency as a Knick, exploding for 41 factors on 17-of-25 taking pictures to propel New York to an exciting 117-114 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.
His clutch effort erased an eight-point deficit within the remaining seven minutes, heading off an all-time show from reigning Rookie of the 12 months Victor Wembanyama, who dominated with 42 factors, 18 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 blocks.
The 2 turned the primary opposing gamers to attain 40 factors every in a Christmas Day recreation since 1961, and the hassle fell 4 factors shy of Bridges’ career-high 45 factors tied final season with the Nets in a November matchup towards the Atlanta Hawks.
“It’s great, man. It feels good. Feels good to win. That’s the biggest thing,” Bridges mentioned at his locker after the sport. “All those shots and trying to make shots is about winning the game. That’s pretty much it. It’s cool. I know my family’s geeked up. I know they’re gonna be more geeked up than me.”
Bridges’ heroics punctuated a breakout December by which he has averaged 22.7 factors on almost 60 p.c taking pictures from the sphere and 50 p.c from past the arc. It’s a dramatic turnaround for the star ahead, who was acquired in a blockbuster commerce involving 5 first-round picks and initially struggled to search out his rhythm with the Knicks.
“They say slow and steady wins the race, and that’s what he’s been,” head coach Tom Thibodeau mentioned after the sport. “If you look at his whole career, he just keeps getting better and better and better. What is he? It’s hard to put him in a box because he does everything. He can run the floor in transition. He moves extremely well without the ball. He knows how to create advantages. You can put him in pick-and-roll. He’s smart. There’s so many intangibles that he brings to the team. It’s creating big advantages for us.”
“It was special,” added Karl-Anthony Cities. “He picked a hell of a day to do it.”
Bridges scored 15 of his 41 factors within the fourth quarter, enjoying all 12 minutes to assist the Knicks rally for his or her fifteenth win in 19 video games. His resurgence has been evident since a 31-point breakout efficiency towards New Orleans on Dec. 1. Earlier than that recreation, Bridges was averaging simply 15.5 factors whereas taking pictures 30.6 p.c from three.
This model of Knicks’ Mikal Bridges is value 5 draft picks: ‘He’s a star on this league’
Josh Hart, one of many Bridges’ most outspoken proponents, mentioned the ahead’s success was inevitable.
“That’s my brother. That’s my brother. I know what he can do. I know his mindset,” Hart mentioned on Wednesday. “People gotta realize not one player in this league has a great game for all 82 games. There’s peaks and valleys in this league. There’s going to be high points, there’s going to be low points — that’s why you always try to stay even-keeled. He’s a guy that did that. He put the work in. When you see someone put the work in, you know what he’s capable of. You know the character that he has.
“We knew that, we knew it was just a matter of time before he kind of found it. Now he found it and y’all not saying nothing. Get some damn apology forms out. I’ll be collecting them next game and give him his flowers because he’s playing well. Let the flowers be as loud as the hate.”
Hart was a key contributor within the win, ending with 12 factors, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists. Cities chipped in 21 factors and 9 rebounds, ending his streak of 18 consecutive double-doubles. Jalen Brunson, regardless of taking pictures 7-of-23 from the sphere, added 20 factors, 9 assists, and seven rebounds.
The fantastic thing about the new-look Knicks is that they not want Brunson to hold the scoring load each night time. The group’s depth has allowed a number of gamers to step up when wanted.
OG Anunoby has a 40-point recreation this season, Cities has posted a 46-point outing, and now Bridges joins the elite membership of Knicks to attain 40 or extra at Madison Sq. Backyard on Christmas Day — a feat beforehand achieved solely by Bernard King and Richie Guerin.
“It shows the depth of the team. Obviously ‘Kal had an amazing game, and that’s why we went and got him. OG had huge plays offensively and more importantly, defensively for us. And Deuce [Miles McBride] gave us good minutes. [So did] Cam,” mentioned Hart. “Now we’re in the position where we don’t need JB to go out there and score 30 for us to win, for us to be in the game. And I think that’s the benefit.
“When he goes out there, more times than not, he’ll give us 25 very efficiently, at least. When that happens, all good. But when we’re able to scratch out wins when he’s not shooting the ball well, it shows the depth of this team. For him, he doesn’t care. His main agenda is to win and he’s happy with that.”
Initially Revealed: December 25, 2024 at 4:12 PM EST
