The man of the night was Mikal Bridges, who exploded for his best night of the season with 31 points on hyper-efficient shooting. He shot 12-of-19 from the field and 7-of-12 from three-point range, and was effective on defense with a block to his tally.
Bridges was a team-high +40 just one game after being -14 in a one-point win over the Hornets on Friday. The forward turned back the clock and turned in a performance of a lifetime, taking advantage of the absence of several key Pelicans players.
This was a game he had to have after a brutal road trip. Bridges has had an up-and-down season as he tries to figure out his role on a loaded roster, and the hope is that this game kicks off a trend of strong performances from their prized offseason acquisition.
“He played a complete game,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said of Bridges’ performance on Sunday (h/t James L. Edwards III of The Athletic).