Ariel Hukporti caught Mikal Bridges. AND Anunoby and Pacome Dadiet quickly joined the crowd. Bridges was swarming late Friday night at the Garden – and for good reason.
His block further Dennis SchroderThe test of accumulation of sealed the The Knicks’ victory over Brooklyn. Bridges used his seven-foot wingspan to tip Schroder’s shot and save the Knicks of brutal loss.
New York led by as many as 21 on Friday night but Brooklyn took a two-point lead with 12 seconds to play on Schroder’s three.
Jalen Brunson answered with a three on the wing with six seconds to go. Then Bridges closed out the game with the block — the best moment of his short Knick tenure.
“He gave us good energy offensively, defensively,” Josh Hart said later. “People try to push him to be perfect. The beauty of ‘Kal is that he’s going to go out there and he’s going to find ways to impact the game — even if it’s not making shots. We’re happy for him. He was traded for five 12th graders, so we’re fine.”
Hart joked about the draft picks New York sent to Brooklyn in the Bridges trade. The Knicks gave the Nets unprotected first-rounders in 2025, 2027, 2029, 2031 and an unprotected pick trade in 2028.
That haul of picks put Bridges under the microscope early in his Knicks tenure.
The 28-year-old entered play Friday averaging 15.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. He also shot 30 percent from beyond the arc and is part of the worst defensive starting five in the NBA. As you would imagine, some Knicks fans were frustrated with Bridges’ performance. Patience is lacking when you haven’t won a title in 50 years.
For what it’s worth, I don’t think there’s much panic in the locker room. Yes, the Knicks know the expectations are high. But it’s early in the season and the team is just getting used to each other.
Bridges had a strong game against his former team on Friday. He finished with 22 points (4-for-7 from three), five rebounds, four assists, one steal and a huge game-sealing block.
“He changes the game and affects the game in a lot of different ways,” Hart said. “People want to talk about shooting or game-making or whatever it is; that’s why you get a guy like that – to make plays like that, to make winning plays. He’s a winning player.”
Hart made a point to address Bridges’ criticism early in the year. After the Knicks’ blowout loss to Boston on Opening Night, Hart addressed the criticism of Bridges’ shooting form.
“We don’t care about it. He puts in the work every day. He’s going to be good,” Hart said that night. “The talk around it is silly; there’s a silliness to it because at the end of the day, he was almost a 40% three-point shooter (for his career). (The) chatter around it is silly and we’re not really going to entertain it.”
Knowing this city and this team, the chatter probably won’t stop anytime soon. But if Bridges can play like he did Friday with regularity, the talk around Bridges will be about everything he brings to the Knicks — not what the Knicks gave up to get him.
A BIG DEER
Speaking of Hart, the 29-year-old bounced back from Wednesday’s foul foul with a near triple-double. He had 14 points, nine rebounds and nine assists against Brooklyn.
Hart was not happy with himself after the loss to the Bulls on Wednesday. But he made a fan for life earlier that day when he gave a Knick fan named Farouk (@BeenHim16) floor tickets to the game. Hart saw people mocking Farouk for the location of his game tickets last week and wanted to do something about it.
“Obviously, MSG is a very expensive place. I just saw people kind of grilling him, so I said, ‘You know what? Why don’t I give him tickets?” Hart said in an interview late Friday night.
“God has blessed me to be able to be in this situation and I’m thankful for it,” Hart added. “If I can help other people… I did that in Boston. I’ll probably do that more this season. To give tickets to people who might not be able to go to the game or something like that, I feel like that’s part of the position we’re in.”
Hart gave the fan pre-game passes and a signed jersey.
“I didn’t expect this at all,” Farouk said before the game. “It’s unreal.”
Great job by Hart. Here’s more background on the gesture.
