Knicks 113, Bulls 111 (OT): “MIKAL BRIDGES BLOCK”

Three Knicks log double-doubles and McBride scores a season-high to beat Josh Giddey’s 27 points and hold off the Bulls.

After an eight-day break that spanned the All-Star weekend, the New York Knicks (37-18) returned to action tonight, hosting the Chicago Bulls (22-34) at Madison Square Garden. Down two starters and rusty as an old jalopy, this was far from our heroes’ finest 53 minutes.

It took a 32-18 double-double from Karl-Anthony Towns, a 22-point, 12-assist double-double from Jalen Brunson, and a season-high 23 points from Deuce McBride, a redemptive fourth-quarter from Mikal Bridges (13 points, 10 rebounds), and five extra minutes of play, but the home team finally escaped with the win, 113-111.

Jaybugkit said it best: “MIKAL BRIDGES BLOCK.” If you turned off the game at the end of the third quarter, you wouldn’t believe it. Mikal had played like a wet dishrag for three frames but was merely saving his magnificence for a brilliant fourth quarter. His block on Nikola Vucevic under the basket with two seconds remaining saved the game and sent it to overtime. Read on for the clip below.

First Half

Eh . . . not exactly an encouraging start. With OG Anunoby (toe) and Josh Hart (knee) sidelined, the Knicks rolled out a patched-together lineup featuring Miles “Deuce” McBride at shooting guard and Precious Achiuwa at power forward. Chicago wasted no time, jumping out to a 6-0 lead and forcing Tom Thibodeau to burn an emergency timeout just two minutes in.

From there, both teams proceeded to build a house of bricks. The Knicks hit just four of their first 15 shots—but fortunately for them, the Bulls were equally stinky. When Deuce drilled a trey with four minutes left in the quarter, the game was knotted at 15 apiece. With the Knicks short-handed, Landry Shamet and Ariel Hukporti also saw action in a truly ungraceful opening frame. By the buzzer, Chicago clung to a 21-19 edge.

The second quarter saw a slight improvement. With Cameron Payne in the mix, the Knicks hit six of their first seven shots and began to carve out a lead. By halftime, after another clunky, funky stretch of basketball, New York held a 50-43 advantage.

What if the NBA introduced a rule where, after missing 15 more three-pointers than they made, a team would be docked a point for every additional brick? That might have spared us the agony of the first half, during which both teams combined to miss 39 three-pointers. Chalk it up to the proverbial All-Star break rust, I guess.

Despite losing the battle on the boards and in the paint, the Knicks kept their turnovers in check—just three to Chicago’s nine—and won the fast-break points battle, 13-4. Jalen Brunson led all scorers with 18, while Karl-Anthony Towns had snagged 12 of New York’s 31 rebounds (compensating for his 2-of-15 shooting from the field). For the visitors, Nikola Vucevic paced the Bulls with 14 points.

Second Half

New York came out of halftime with a little more control. Deuce swiped an inbound pass and set up Towns for a dunk, which is always exciting basketball! But Chicago quickly realized their best path to a comeback lay through the interior. By hammering the paint, they put together a 29-23 run to trim the deficit to one late in the quarter.

Not to be outmuscled, Towns exploited the outmatched Vooch and sank seven straight shots in the quarter. Karl was doing his part to keep his team competitive. The Knicks had just three of their regular starters in action, and two of them—Towns and Brunson—combined for over 40 points through three quarters. The third starter? Ouch. After shooting 2-of-10 with four points and two turnovers, Mikal Bridges faded into the wallpaper as the quarter wore on. No thanks to him, New York managed to hold onto a two-point lead after surrendering 38 points in the frame.

Telepathically, Mikal heard me type the previous paragraph. Lo-and-behold, he scored New York’s first three buckets of the fourth quarter, quickly adding six points to his total. The good vibes were short-lived, though. When Josh Giddey swished a triple with seven minutes to go, Chicago had tied the game; soon after, two free-throws from Julian Phillips gave them their first lead since the second quarter.

Who but Bridges put the Knicks back on top with a long-ball. It was a rare make in a sea of misses, as each team struggled to put the round thing into the net. Mine eyes might never recover. With a little over two remaining, it was Bridges again on his redemption tour, driving into the paint and hitting Deuce in the corner to assist on the go-ahead three.

That thoroughly-shampooed and conditioned Australian, Giddey, was feeling his oats in the fourth, though. He answered with a three-pointer, and then so did Vooch. Down by two with 30 seconds left, Captain Brunson razzle-dazzled a 15-footer to tie the game at 104. Chicago had their shot when Lonzo Ball was left all alone for a straight-on three-pointer, but he bricked yet again. Then, with two seconds remaining and possession, they inbounded the ball to Vooch under the rim—and Bridges blocked him to send it to overtime! The Bridges redemption tour was complete!

In the fifth quarter, Chicago scored first, but Deuce eclipsed his season-high for points to get the Knicks started on a 9-0 run. The Bulls came close, with a 5-0 run of their own, but the clock expired just in time. Two straight overtime wins for New York!

Up Next

Gas up the jet and pack the swords. Our heroes are bound for Cleveland to face the Cavaliers tomorrow night in what ought to be (should be, could be) a thriller. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.

Box Score