Mikal Bridges

Knicks Notes: Brunson, Anunoby, Towns

The next major playoff test for Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson will be grappling with the Celtics’ All-Defensive backcourt, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post.

The reigning Clutch Player of the Year averaged 31.5 PPG, 8.2 APG, 4.0 RPG in New York’s first round playoff series victory against Detroit, while fending off top point-of-attack Pistons defender Ausar Thompson.

The Celtics’ imposing defensive duo of Derrick White and Jrue Holiday isn’t looking past Brunson either.

“Big-time player,” White said of Brunson. “Seems to make the big plays for them. He’s had an unbelievable year, and obviously these playoffs, he’s taken it to another level. … Try to make it as difficult as we can for 48 minutes.”

There’s more out of New York:

  • All-Defensive Knicks forward OG Anunoby is preparing for his own massive test, in this case defending the Celtics’ best player, six-time All-Star forward Jayson Tatum, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. “I always have confidence [in OG] no matter who he is guarding,” Brunson said of Anunoby. “He brings that mindset every game. And so I have confidence regardless of whatever he is doing.” As Botte notes, former All-Defensive wing Mikal Bridges could also spend significant time guarding Tatum.
  • After attempting a series-low 10 shots in the Knicks’ series-clinching Game 6 win over Detroit, Karl-Anthony Towns says he isn’t concerned about the drop in his field goal attempts — as long as New York keeps winning, writes Ethan Sears of The New York Times.
  • In case you missed it, Holiday is looking to return to the hardwood early in the Knicks series after sitting out Boston’s last three playoff games with a strained right hamstring.

Knicks Notes: Porzingis, Brunson, Bridges, Anunoby, Towns

Kristaps Porzingis was once beloved by Knicks fans who saw him as their best hope of escaping years of dysfunction, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. But years later, after a devastating injury and a messy breakup, Porzingis is a member of the Celtics and stands in their team’s way of reaching the Eastern Conference Finals.

When he was drafted with the fourth pick in 2015, Porzingis was hailed as a “unicorn” because of his unique combination of size and outside shooting touch. He was an immediate fan favorite in New York, but his efforts to turn the Knicks into contenders were sunk by general mismanagement and what Bondy calls “petty infighting” involving the front office and coaching staff.

Bondy states that former team executives Phil Jackson and Steve Mills never viewed Porzingis as a future star and unsuccessfully tried to trade him after his second season. He suffered a torn ACL midway through the following season and then missed all of 2018/19. Before he was fully healed, he was traded to Dallas, and Knicks management cast him as a villain on the way out.

“The whole process was just a mess,” Porzingis said. “I didn’t like the way it ended. That wasn’t how I wanted it to end, if it did end. I tried to stay myself the whole time. Not do anything. Not say anything. If I did say anything, it would’ve been right after I was traded. Now it’s too late.”

There’s more on the Knicks:

  • Knicks players are acknowledging that Boston will present a tougher challenge than they faced in the first round, per Peter Botte of The New York Post. New York went 0-4 against the Celtics this season, dropping the first three games by 63 total points before losing in overtime in April. “Obviously, (we have to) play better than we did (against them) throughout the regular season,” Jalen Brunson said. “Be better, ready to do it from the jump, knowing it’s going to be a game of runs, knowing that they’re capable of doing a lot of great things. I feel like we played better in that (fourth) game. We adjusted from the first three times we played them, obviously still not getting it done, but definitely played better and competed better than the first three games. So that’s something we can look at and build off of.” 
  • The Knicks never lost faith in Mikal Bridges no matter how bad things got this season, and he rewarded them in the close-out game against Detroit, notes Barbara Barker of Newsday. Bridges scored 25 points in Game 6 and tied the contest on a put-back slam in the final minute. After Saturday’s practice, coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters that Bridges has done an admirable job in dealing with a heavy amount of pressure after the Knicks sent five first-round picks to Brooklyn to acquire him. “I think for anybody who gets traded or in free agency or whatever it might be there’s an adjustment period that you have to go through and it takes some time,” Thibodeau said. “I think he’s very confident in his abilities.”
  • Steve Popper of Newsday lists five keys for the Knicks in the series, including the need for Bridges and OG Anunoby to control Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and a more consistent performance from Karl-Anthony Towns.

Knicks Notes: Brunson, Thibodeau, Bridges, Towns

Jalen Brunson delivered a moment that will live forever in Knicks‘ history when he sank a three-pointer in the final seconds Thursday night to close out their series with Detroit, writes Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post. With Game 6 tied on New York’s final possession, Brunson drove hard to the left, then crossed over to lose Pistons defender Ausar Thompson (Twitter video link from the NBA). By the time Thompson recovered, Brunson had already released the straightaway three that decided the series.

“I found a way to create separation,” said Brunson, who capped off a 40-point night. “I shot a little earlier than I wanted to but I had to shoot it, and I got the ball to go in.”

As Vaccaro points out, Brunson’s heroics weren’t limited to the final shot. After the Knicks let a 12-point fourth quarter lead slip away and faced a seven-point deficit with two and a half minutes remaining, Brunson took over the offense to prevent Detroit from forcing a Game 7. First came a three-point play on a six-foot floater, followed by a reverse layup under the basket. On the next possession, the Pistons surrounded him on a drive to the hoop, allowing Mikal Bridges to easily tip in the miss.

“What can you say?” coach Tom Thibodeau said after the dramatic victory. “He’s timely, he’s at his best when his best is needed. That’s what makes him special.”

There’s more on the Knicks:

  • Brunson’s shot altered the team’s future to a degree that’s impossible to measure, states James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. If New York had lost the series, Edwards believes there definitely would have been conversations about replacing Thibodeau, and owner James Dolan would have considered front office moves as well after major offseason deals to acquire Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns put the franchise into luxury tax territory.
  • Bridges delivered his best game of the playoffs with 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting, per Steve Popper of Newsday. Popper notes that the Knicks traded for Bridges and OG Anunoby to match up with Boston wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and they’ll get that chance in the second round. “Yeah, they’re a hell of players and got moves for days and physical,” Bridges said of the Celtics duo. “Yeah, definitely a challenge, but it’s never one-on-one. You got four guys behind you, your teammates, so it’s just team defense and just helping each other out.”
  • The Knicks will have to recover quickly from a physically and mentally draining series to have any chance against Boston, observes Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. Towns has some experience in facing a defending champion in the playoffs as his Minnesota team ousted Denver in seven games last spring. “With that experience, we learned a lot,” Towns said. “You gotta be ready for Game 9, you gotta be ready to have that energy and emotional capacity.”

Knicks Notes: Hart, Towns, Bridges, Payne, Thibodeau

Josh Hart has maximized his value to the Knicks by putting aside any personal dreams of stardom, writes James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Throughout his career, which included stops with four teams in six years before he found a home in New York, Hart always believed he could be more than just a scrappy player who tends to make the right play at the right time.

He told Edwards that he adopted a new mindset this season and is now focused on finding ways to make his high-profile teammates better. That led to setting a franchise record with nine triple-doubles during the season and averaging career highs of 9.6 rebounds and 5.9 assists along with 13.6 points per game.

“I think it’s realizing … for me, I feel like I’ve grown in my faith more,” Hart said. “I’ve been trying to take on that servant mentality. I want to make sure I can cater to these guys and make sure that they’re successful and put in the right positions to blossom.”

Edwards states that Hart often points to Celtics guard Jrue Holiday as an example of sacrificing individual glory for the greater good. Holiday was a two-time All-Star who accepted a reduced role in Boston’s offense to help produce a championship, and he’s in a unique position to understand Hart’s value to the Knicks.

“Even though people might say, like, he doesn’t shoot the ball well enough or do whatever, he makes plays, and he makes the game easier for everybody else based off his play,” Holiday said. “And it’s not just his effort. He’s really smart. He gets to the basket. He offensive rebounds. Things that guys don’t really want to do, he’s excellent at it. Guys who really take that to heart and can really play that type of game, I feel like you can be in the league as long as you want to if you play that way.”

There’s more on the Knicks:

  • Karl-Anthony Towns scored eight of the team’s final 10 points in Sunday’s win at Detroit, and one of the clutch shots was a fadeaway he developed while working with Kyrie Irving last summer, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Towns said Irving taught him the finer points of the shot, including where to hold the ball and how to launch it above the defender “It’s something that I never really had,” Towns said. “And it didn’t look as good. And I was able to iron my game out watching a great like him. One of the most talented players the NBA has ever seen and just did it as best I could to add my little flavor to it. It may not look as good as his — I ain’t going to lie, I think it’s pretty damn ugly — but it’s effective when I need it to be.”
  • Mikal Bridges hit two late three-pointers Sunday after shooting just 1-of-10 from the field in the first three quarters, per Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. Bridges said he drew inspiration from his teammates, particularly Cameron Payne, who has seen limited playing time since scoring 14 points in the series opener. “I think the biggest is Cam Payne,” Bridges said. “He’s big on voicing, helping me out. Sometimes, him calling me some not good names helps as well. It just feeds off that.”
  • Coach Tom Thibodeau deserves more credit for the adjustments he has made throughout the series, including getting more shots for Towns after he was shut down in Game 2, contends Ian Begley of SNY. Begley notes that Thibodeau’s job might have been in jeopardy with a first-round loss, but he has responded with a high-level coaching performance.

Knicks’ Thibodeau Gripes About Officiating After Pistons’ First Playoff Win Since 2008

The Pistons won a playoff game on Monday for the first time since May 2008, writes Chris Herring of ESPN, hanging onto a fourth-quarter lead in Madison Square Garden to defeat the Knicks by a score of 100-94 and even up their first-round series at one game apiece.

Detroit made just 44.6% of its field goal attempts, including only six shots from beyond the arc, but won the game with strong defense and free throw shooting. The Pistons went 28-of-34 from the foul line, compared to 16-of-19 for New York, prompting Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau to speak after the loss about how the game was called.

“Huge discrepancy in free throws. Huge,” Thibodeau said. “I don’t understand how, on one side, there are direct line drives with contact that just aren’t being called. Look, I really don’t give a crap how they call the game as long as it’s consistent on both sides. But if (Cade) Cunningham‘s driving, and there’s marginal contact that gets him to the line, then Jalen (Brunson) should be getting to the line.”

By the end of the game, Brunson had gone to the free throw line 11 times – compared to 12 for Cunningham – and Ausar Thompson, the primary defender on the Knicks’ point guard had fouled out. However, as Madeline Kenney of The New York Post observes, the Knicks didn’t shoot a free throw until the second quarter and took 11 of their 19 tries during the fourth quarter.

Despite the complaints from Thibodeau and the MSG faithful, who booed and chanted derisively at the referees throughout the game, Brunson said after scoring 37 points that the officiating wasn’t the reason why the Knicks lost.

“Regardless if fouls are being called or not called, we’ve got to adjust and I feel like we did that a little too late into the game,” he said, per Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press. “And so regardless of how it’s reffed, we’ve got to adjust and we’ve got to adapt to that and go on from there.”

Here are a few more Knicks-related notes from Monday’s loss:

  • Given the price the Knicks paid to acquire him last summer, Mikal Bridges will find himself under a bright spotlight this spring. As Stefan Bondy of The New York Post writes in a subscriber-only article, Bridges is off to a slow start in the postseason — after sitting out most of the fourth quarter during Saturday’s Game 1 comeback, he went 0-of-4 from the field in the final four minutes of Monday’s loss, including missing a game-tying three-point attempt with 12 seconds left.
  • Bridges wasn’t the only Knicks wing who struggled in Game 2. After a huge Game 1 performance, OG Anunoby scored just 10 points and went 0-for-4 on three-point shots in Game 2, Kenney writes for The New York Post. Anunoby also wasn’t as effective as he was in Game 1 at slowing down Cunningham, who scored 33 points on Monday. “They were running stuff to get me off of his body,” Anunobdy said of the Pistons’ Game 2 strategy. “Setting screens to get me off of him, doing stuff like that. They made some adjustments, we’re gonna make some adjustments ourselves.”
  • The Knicks will likely need more from Karl-Anthony Towns offensively in order to bounce back in the series, writes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. The big man scored just 10 points, tied for his second-lowest mark of 2024/25, and didn’t attempt a shot in the fourth quarter of Game 2, though Thibodeau said he didn’t have a problem with that. “(Towns) was getting touches, but he’s making the right play,” the Knicks’ coach said. “If he’s getting double-teamed, I don’t want him just shooting the ball over three people. That makes no sense to me.”
  • Thibodeau was more concerned about the Knicks’ issues on the glass. Despite missing injured big man Isaiah Stewart, the Pistons out-rebounded New York by a 48-34 margin, with 12 of those Detroit boards coming on the offensive end. “The rebounding was problematic the whole night, so that’s probably the whole game,” Thibodeau said, according to Kenney and Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Towns added that the Knicks need to match the Pistons’ intensity for “50/50 basketballs.”

Knicks Notes: Rotation, McBride, Robinson, Towns, Bridges, Brunson, Toughness

How low will coach Tom Thibodeau go? In this instance, we’re talking about his rotation.

Thibodeau sliced his rotation to eight players in last year’s playoffs, then cut it to seven when injuries struck. The New York Post’s Stefan Bondy anticipates that Thibodeau will rely heavily on his starting unit once again in the opening-round series against Detroit.

Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson appear to be the only locks to get steady playing time off the bench. Landry Shamet, Cameron Payne and Precious Achiuwa are the other reserves who could be called upon but it’s likely only one will get rotation minutes, according to Bondy, who recommends that the hot-shooting Shamet should be the choice.

Here’s more Knicks news:

  • It’ll be the first postseason with the Knicks for Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, the front office’s two major acquisitions to become a championship-level team. The pressure will be on that duo to produce, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post opines. “I think for me and Mikal, we just wanted to show our value to the team,” Towns said. “And I think that throughout the year, we’ve had the opportunity to do that, to our fans and our teammates and our coaching staff.”
  • Jalen Brunson, who returned from an ankle injury this month to play four games, says that past playoff experiences will help the club navigate this postseason, Peter Botte of the New York Post writes. “I think for us, it’s, like any other season, it’s a roller coaster every year, there’s gonna be ups and downs, and it’s all about how you manage it,” Brunson said. “But now that the regular season’s over, it’s all about how we can move on and be better the next day. I know it’s a term that people don’t like to hear, but we learn from what we did in the past, good and bad, and move on and get better. That’s the name of the game at this stage of the season. … So we’re just focused. We still got a long way to go with preparation, still got a long way to go making sure we’re ready to go for Saturday. We’ll be ready.”
  • The talent is there but are the Knicks tough enough to make it past the physical Pistons and other potential opponents? Newsday’s Steve Popper explores that topic in a subscriber-only story.

And-Ones: Wong, 82 Games, Powell, Jamaica, More

After being waived by the Hornets prior to the All-Star break, guard Isaiah Wong signed a rest-of-season contract with the Lithuanian team Zalgiris Kaunas in February. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter links), Wong has since agreed to extend his relationship with Zalgiris, though his new deal comes with opt-out potential.

As agent Darrell Comer explains to Scotto, Wong’s new three-year contract includes outs for the NBA, EuroLeague, and China. Specifically, it features an opportunity for the 24-year-old to opt out during the summer of 2025 for a two-way contract offer from an NBA team, and Wong is indeed expected to generate two-way interest, Scotto reports.

The 55th overall pick in the 2023 draft, Wong spent his rookie year on a two-way deal with the Pacers, then appeared in 20 games off the bench for Charlotte this season. He averaged 6.0 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 13.3 minutes per night as a Hornet, with a shooting line of .390/.394/.735.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has previously expressed a desire to reduce the 82-game NBA season and still feels strongly about the issue, having emailed NBA commissioner Adam Silver to make his case before the start of this season, according to Christian Clark of The Athletic. However, even though he believes it’s a logical way to address load management and player participation issues, Kerr is skeptical it will ever happen. “We should be playing fewer games,” he said. “Everyone knows that. But it’s a money issue. How many of the constituents are willing to take less money?”
  • Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press takes a closer look at the players who appeared in all 82 regular season games this season, including Spurs point guard Chris Paul, who became the first player to start 82 games in his 20th NBA season (John Stockton previously made 82 starts in his 19th year). As Reynolds notes, Knicks forward Mikal Bridges played just six seconds on Sunday in order to keep his streak of 556 consecutive regular season appearances alive.
  • Clippers guard Norman Powell has committed to representing Jamaica during the pre-qualifiers for the 2027 FIBA World Cup this summer, according to an announcement from the Basketball Jamaica Association. The games will be played from August 8-10. “I’m super excited to join Team Jamaica,” Powell said in a statement. “Coach (Nick) Turner and I have worked on this for a while, and now it’s a reality. I’m ready to grind and need everyone’s support to make it happen.”
  • ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) has launched his offseason preview series for 2025 by identifying the top front office priorities for the Jazz, Hornets, and Wizards this offseason. While the draft will be crucial for all three clubs, they also have several veteran players to make decisions on, including Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, LaMelo Ball, and Jordan Poole.

New York Notes: Russell, Young Nets, Bridges, Anunoby, Knicks

After expressing multiple times in March that he’d like to remain in Brooklyn beyond this season, Nets guard D’Angelo Russell reiterated that desire in an exclusive interview with Erik Slater of ClutchPoints.com.

A lot of teams are rebuilding, but to be here and see this team rebuilding with the pieces that they have, I think the league will be on notice. They were on notice this year,” Russell said. “This group had a lot of good wins before I got here, and then when I got here, we beat a lot of good teams as well. I think just what the future holds with this group [is why I want to be back]. Obviously, what (head coach) Jordi (Fernandez) and (general manager) Sean (Marks) are creating, I’m familiar with it. Being somewhere familiar is something I’m definitely prioritizing.

In 29 games with the Nets this season, Russell is averaging 12.9 points and 5.6 assists per contest. Even though his numbers have dipped since last season, he’s excited by the idea of serving as a mentor for the young Nets.

We have more from New York:

  • With several new faces expected to join the team in this year’s draft (Brooklyn holds four first-round picks), the Nets‘ young players know they’re auditioning for roles moving forward, the New York Post’s Brian Lewis writes. “We’re not just out there playing,” big man Drew Timme said. “A lot of us are interviewing for our jobs.” Timme, Jalen Wilson, Keon Johnson, Tyrese Martin and Maxwell Lewis all have team options for next season, while other young players like Cam Thomas, Ziaire Williams, Trendon Watford, Day’Ron Sharpe and Reece Beekman all are slated to reach free agency.
  • The Knicks went 1-11 combined in games against the Cavaliers, Celtics and Pistons this season and heading into a first-round matchup with Detroit, New York will need its wings to step up defensively and bear the responsibility of guarding Cade Cunningham, SNY’s Ian Begley writes. Specifically, the Knicks will be relying in the series on two players on whom they spent significant trade capital: Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby.
  • New York’s 1-11 record against those three teams this season was clinched when the Knicks blew a 23-point lead against the Cavs on Friday. Ahead of the playoffs, the Knicks are seeking urgency, Chris Herring of ESPN writes. “We’ve got to get it fixed, and we’ve got to get it fixed fast,” coach Tom Thibodeau said after Friday’s loss. “[We need to fix] everything. We’ve got to play for 48 minutes on both sides of the ball.

Knicks Notes: Tucker, Achiuwa, Bridges, Playoffs

Veteran forward P.J. Tucker had only made one brief appearance for the Knicks this season heading into Thursday’s game in Detroit. However, with OG Anunoby and Josh Hart held for rest, he was surprisingly the first player off the bench last night, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post.

Tucker received a heads-up that he’d be in the rotation on Thursday, but he wasn’t sure how much he’d play. He wound up logging 27 minutes, the most playing time he’s received in a regular season game in two years.

Once I got through my first wind, it was really good,” said Tucker, who finished with three points and six rebounds. “I started to open up a little bit. I started to feel good, started talking, getting involved with the game and it’s like riding a bike.”

Here’s more on the Knicks:

  • While Tucker was happy to be playing again, he was not pleased with the loss to the Pistons, who could be New York’s opponent in the first round of the playoffs. “They just out-toughed us. They did. The whole fourth quarter,” Tucker said (story via Bondy). “We kept it close but they just out-toughed us. That’s something we got to address. Obviously, not having OG [Anunoby], not having Josh [Hart], getting those guys back will help a lot. I just feel like down in the trenches like that in the playoffs this year, they’re not calling nothing. They’re letting a lot of stuff go right now and I like it. The refs are letting a lot of stuff go both ways. With that happening, guys got to play differently. We got to play different. We got to toughen up. It’s more physical. We got to toughen up.”
  • In a mailbag for The Athletic, James L. Edwards III answers questions about the Knicks’ playoff chances, the results of the Karl-Anthony Towns trade, and more. One question is focused on the future of Precious Achiuwa, who will be an unrestricted free agent again this summer after re-signing with New York on a one-year deal. Edwards believes another reunion between the two sides is unlikely.
  • Iron man Mikal Bridges has yet to miss a game in his NBA career. In fact, he hasn’t sat out a game since he was in high school, Bondy writes for The New York Post. The 28-year-old is on the verge of playing all 82 regular season games in 2024/25.
  • In a subscriber-only story, Bondy lists which members of the Knicks have the most at stake entering the playoffs. Bridges and head coach Tom Thibodeau are likely feeling the most heat, according to Bondy. Bridges will be eligible for an extension this offseason.

New York Notes: Thibodeau, Brunson, Hart, Bridges, Wright, Clowney, Etienne

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau is once again relying on his starters. Entering Saturday’s game at Atlanta, Josh Hart was averaging 37.6 minutes in 73 starts and Mikal Bridges was averaging 37.6 minutes in 76 games.

Thibodeau says he’s just doing what he feels is proper, according to ESPN’s Chris Herring. “There’s no right or wrong,” Thibodeau said. “There’s what you feel is best for your team.”

We have more from the New York teams:

  • Jalen Brunson will return from his ankle ailment on Sunday, NBA insider Chris Haynes tweets. The Knicks are playing in Atlanta on Saturday, with a home game against Phoenix on tap for Sunday. Brunson has missed the last 15 games. His anticipated return was reported heading into the weekend.
  • With Brunson’s imminent return, Knicks guard Delon Wright‘s days as a starter are numbered. Wright, a free agent after the season, has gained trust from Thibodeau, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post writes. “[Wright has] shown everyone he’s more than capable,” the coach said. “We like the job that he’s done.”
  • Noah Clowney‘s second NBA season was an overall disappointment, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. The 2023 first-round pick saw his production decline as ankle injuries piled up. He has numerous areas to work on, Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said. “His physicality [is an area of improvement], especially on the defensive end,” he said. “And then lately, his drive decisions, alright? If he’s not going to shoot it and he’s going to put the ball on the floor, how can he get to the rim with one-two dribbles and be efficient? Whether it’s an easy drive-and-kick or finish at the rim.”
  • Two-way Nets player Tyson Etienne made his NBA debut on March 28 against the Clippers, then played 25 minutes against Minnesota on Thursday. “A lot of gratitude. This journey that I’ve been on has come with a lot of ups and downs. I’ve been putting a lot of work in for a long time,” Etienne told RG.org’s Grant Afseth. “Just to get that call — and for it to be where I’m from, New York — I’m just really grateful and excited to be a part of the team.”