This game marked the official Knicks debut for newcomer Mikal Bridges, a debut he would like to forget. The first half was a struggle for the two-way forward, who shot 0-for-5 from the field and was 0-for-4 from three in that stretch. Overall, he finished the night with the worst plus-minus on the team at -33.
The second half was much better for Bridges, who scored all 16 of his points in that span and shot 7-for-8 from the field and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. However, it was too little too late for Bridges to rally the Knicks from a large deficit, as they trailed by 19 points at halftime and never got close.
The preseason raised concerns about Bridges after he appeared to have a new look to his jump shot. Bridges shot just 2-of-19 from beyond the arc in the preseason and 0-of-10 from deep in their final preseason game against the Washington Wizards last Friday. Those issues appear to have lingered into the season opener, but the hope is that he can continue to improve with a solid second half in the games to come.