New York Knicks star forward Mikal Bridges saw his stretch of defensive excellence against some of the premier point guards in the NBA get interrupted on Wednesday night.
Knicks & Mikal Bridges bested by Nuggets’ Jamal Murray
Bridges and the Knicks were able to defeat the Denver Nuggets by a score of 122-112. However, the Nuggets kept things competitive on the back of star floor general Jamal Murray, who finished with a team-high 33 points on 13-25 shooting from the field. The Knicks impressively forced reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic to only 17 points on 6-15 shooting from the field, and did a great job on the rest of Denver’s role players, but Murray was their brightest spot.
Bridges was partly responsible for trying to contain Murray on the affair, but his efforts were not enough to neutralize his attack. The Villanova product had done a masterful job in his four outings prior, though.
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Bridges had held Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks), D’Angelo Russell (Brooklyn Nets), De’Aaron Fox (Sacramento Kings), and Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies) to 34.7 percent shooting from the field before facing Murray. Albeit, the Kentucky product was too much for his entire Knicks squad, though New York came away with the win.
Bridges will likely share primary defensive duties with teammate OG Anunoby against Los Angeles Lakers superstar point forward LeBron James in the Knicks’ next contest on Saturday. James is one of the toughest matchups in the league due to his size, athleticism, top-shelf slashing, and overall offensive excellence. The 6-6 wing will be responsible for preventing James from finding his teammates and getting a head of steam downhill.