Mikal Bridges has become the embodiment of the old adage, “It’s not how you start, but how you finish.”
On Wednesday night in Boston, for a second straight game in Game 2 of the New York Knicks’ Eastern Conference semifinal against the Celtics, Bridges was struggling mightily.
For a second straight game, after missing 10 of his first 12 shots in Game 1, he missed each of his first eight attempts in Game 2 and entered the fourth quarter with zero points.
“It was wearing on me a little bit, missing shots… I’m trying to win a game, and me missing is not going to help us,” Bridges said. “It hurt me that I’m making my team lose at that moment.”
But, for a second straight game, he kept with it and was one of the key Knicks who turned the tide in overcoming a second straight 20-point deficit and shocking the Celtics on their home floor at TD Garden.
Bridges went 6-of-10 in the fourth quarter and posted all 14 of his points in the final stanza to account for nearly half of New York’s 30 points during that stretch.
Down 12 at 73-61 as the last frame began, Bridges scored each of the Knicks’ first seven points of the quarter to keep his side in it. He then went on a personal 7-0 run to bring New York within seven at 84-77 with 5:51 to go.
“Just everything with my teammates, man, it’s really, truly been them just holding me together and keeping me mentally right and just telling me to keep going,” Bridges said on what kept him focused. “I think [head coach Tom Thibodeau] also just trusting me, coming out in the fourth, running a play for me, putting that confidence in me. It’s really my teammates and my coaches, man. They really held me up.”
Jalen Brunson took over, scoring nine of the Knicks’ final 14 points, but Bridges came up with another indelible moment on the defensive end for, you guessed it, a second straight game.
Following Brunson’s go-ahead free-throw with 12.7 seconds left to give the Knicks a 91-90 lead, the Celtics opted not to call a timeout and put the ball in the hands of their superstar, Jayson Tatum, in an attempt to do what Jaylen Brown could not do in Game 1 when Bridges ripped the ball away from him with three seconds left to preserve New York’s 108-105 win.
Tatum crossed half-court, where Celtics forward Al Horford ran a pick-and-roll play to take the Knicks’ best defender, OG Anunoby, off him for center Mitchell Robinson — an obvious mismatch. Tatum started to his right but cut to his left, went through the key, and outside the left lane line, all with Robinson staying with him.
Waiting for them was Anunoby, while Bridges was just behind Tatum as he kept tabs on Brown in the left corner. Tatum went up for a tough baseline fadeaway when Bridges swooped in from behind, blocked the shot, and came away with the ball, launching it down the court as time expired for a second straight game.
“Just a hell of a job with Mitch and OG, guarding a pick-and-roll,” Bridges said. “Mitch ran him off the line playing good defense, and even OG helping him out. I’m just trying to read and react.”
“Pretty epic,” Robinson added. “He’s a great player. We had to do whatever it takes to get it done.”
Games 1 and 2 feel as though they are a microcosm of Bridges’ first season with the Knicks. After he was acquired from the Nets for four unprotected first-round draft picks, a top-four protected selection, and a pick swap, he often drew the ire of many as inconsistent play dotted his assimilation to life at Madison Square Garden. His points per game dropped from last year. So did his 3-point shooting percentage.
But Bridges was acquired for the entirety of his game, which includes the kind of lockdown defense that has secured the Knicks’ 2-0 series lead over the Celtics and the mental toughness that has allowed him to succeed even with the volume of doubt that has been thrown his way.
“It’s just how I was raised,” Bridges said. “My mom was real strong, mentally tough. Growing up, she made me like that. Going through experiences, going through college with coach [Jay Wright] at Villanova, he preached mental toughness. They really brought it out of me. I had it growing up, but I think college made it even more, and established that. It’s just who I am… You’re tested every year. Throughout the whole year, 82 games, you’re going to have some slumps, you’re going to play bad. Just always sticking with it no matter what.”
It is one of the main reasons why Thibodeau continuously trusts Bridges in the high-leverage spots; decisions that have been rewarded handsomely.
“One of the things I really respect about him is his demeanor,” Thibodeau said of Bridges. “He just keeps marching forward, and he doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get too low. He’s a great competitor. He just finds ways to help us win. If your shot’s not dropping, play great defense, move without the ball, push it up the floor.”
