Mikal Bridges snaps slump with 31 points as Knicks wallop Pelicans: ‘He was special tonight’

Tom Thibodeau knew this day would come. So did Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns. The body of work spoke for itself: Mikal Bridges was a heralded 3-and-D wing whose services teams sought frequently during his year-and-change stint in Brooklyn.
The slow start was concerning. It could be a thing of the past after Sunday.
Bridges snapped free from one of the worst shooting slumps of his career with a season-high 31 points in the Knicks’ 118-85 walloping of the New Orleans Pelicans at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. He shot 12-of-19 from the field and 7-of-12 from three-point range to power the Knicks to their 12th win of the season and their seventh victory in their last nine games.
“Special. He was special tonight. Just played with a ton of confidence,” Towns said of Bridges after the game. “Shot the ball well. Got his swag going with his celebrations and stuff. Just a great night to watch him hit shots like that.”
It was a welcome sight for Bridges, who logged an eight-point, three-turnover game in Charlotte against the Hornets on Friday and had shot the three ball at a 30% clip entering Sunday’s matchup against the Pelicans.
Against a New Orleans team devoid of wings with Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Herb Jones all sidelined due to injury, Bridges went to feast: Thanksgiving Part 2.
“That’s our guy. We trust him. We trust him to shoot the shots. Midranges, turnarounds. We want him to be aggressive,” Hart said at his locker after the game. “That’s the Mikal we know. And in the season there’s going to be peaks and valleys, ups and downs. That’s why you don’t panic. Think about averages. Everything averages out. So you have a bad 10-game spell or a 15-game spell, you’re going to have a really good 15-game spell. So you never worry about it in the season.”
The breakout game was long overdue. After all, the Knicks acquired Bridges to be the third prong of their offensive attack, supporting Towns and Brunson in a high-powered New York offense. The offense has been powerful, but Sunday was the first time Bridges shined offensively for a full game since his trade to the Knicks — a trade that cost the Knicks five future first-round draft picks. With such a hefty cost, the expectation was high.
“The thing is we all tend to measure someone by if the ball goes in. I felt like he played an all-around game. He cut, got some easy baskets cutting, he made seven 3s, I thought he shot good 3s, and that’s — you’ve gotta do what you always do: You’re an all-around player, and that’s what makes him who he is,” Thibodeau said after the game. “So I felt like guys created good offense. He kept moving. He was hard to guard, and I think easy baskets helped. I think his defense was really, really good. So a lot of good things from that.”
Bridges played more minutes than any other player on Sunday. When he caught fire early, the Knicks stuck with him all game long. The Knicks outscored the Pelicans by 40 points in the 36 minutes Bridges spent on the floor.
“We knew he had the confidence, and our job was to continue to find him when he was open, and today he was great for us on both ends of the ball,” said Hart. “He had great energy at the point of attack and as a defender. And made his shots.”
Bridges said he didn’t approach Sunday’s matchup differently than any other game. He didn’t let his shooting slump get to his head.
“Just because the shots I was taking, I was liking them,” he said. “And then [I’m playing on] a new team. That’s pretty much it. I never played with an offensive talent like KAT as a big. Never dealt with a popping big a lot. Just something we had to adjust to, and it’s just going to take time.”
But can he do it again? Can Bridges pull the encore? Or was it simply a struggling player finding his rhythm against a depleted team now riding an eight-game losing streak?
The Knicks will find out on Tuesday when they host a defensive juggernaut Orlando Magic team in a winner-advances NBA Cup game at the Garden.
That is tomorrow’s problem. For now, the Knicks will celebrate. Their third star finally found his groove. Three days after Thanksgiving, for Bridges, the feast continued.
 
“It was much needed, and most importantly, it led to a win,” said Brunson. “The way he was playing, he was confident and it was flowing. I love to see it.”