Knicks defeat Magic as Mikal Bridges hits NBA ironman milestone
Knicks forward Mikal Bridges shoots while under pressure from Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony during the first half of an NBA game Sunday in Orlando, Fla. Credit: AP/Alan Youngblood
ORLANDO, Fla. — Late in the first quarter Sunday night, Mikal Bridges broke out ahead of the pack on a steal. He completed a fast-break layup as Anthony Black fouled him, and the slender 6-7 wing turned to the Knicks’ bench and flexed.
The move drew more laughter than anything else, but there is some toughness in Bridges’ game. It’s not in his style and not in his physique. But there is something to achieve the milestone he hit as he helped the Knicks to a 100-91 win over the Orlando Magic at the Kia Center.
The win got the Knicks back on track after they were knocked out of the NBA Cup on Wednesday, and it marked the first loss at home for Orlando, which had been 10-0.
By the end of the game, the crowd, always heavily stocked with Knicks fans, had faded to just Knicks fans, and the loud chants of “Let’s go Knicks!” and “M-V-P!” for Jalen Brunson echoed through the arena.
Facing an injury-riddled Magic squad only accentuated what Bridges did by taking the floor. It was his 500th consecutive game without ever missing one, a feat only six players in NBA history have reached.
In the load management era of the NBA, he is an outlier. The last player to play in his first 500 games without ever missing one was Terry Tyler, whose streak ended in 1985, nearly 40 years ago.
“Maybe I’ll talk about it more when I’m done playing,” Bridges said. “Didn’t even know until [I was told] before the game. Other than that, I just try to be available and help my team. And I just felt ever since I got in the league and wherever I’ve been at, I feel like I can help [by] being out there.”
The Magic, who were shorthanded in their recent meeting at the Garden, were even more depleted this time with Franz Wagner sidelined with an oblique tear. He joined Paolo Banchero, who already was out with the same injury.
Mo Wagner made up for some of the missing offensive punch, scoring a career-high 32 points, but it wasn’t enough to counter the Knicks’ balanced scoring. Brunson had 31 points, Karl-Anthony Towns added 22 points, 22 rebounds and five assists, and Bridges had 17 points.
“In today’s NBA, it’s pretty remarkable,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said of Bridges’ streak. “Testament to him and the way he takes care of himself and prepares and does all those things. Really durable, incredible worker, puts a lot into it. So it doesn’t happen by accident.’’
Said Towns: “He played 500 straight? Nah, we got to drug test him. I mean, that’s crazy. Yeah, we got to for sure drug test him. That’s special.
“I mean, everyone talks about offensive traits and talents and defensive traits and talents, but the most impactful and the greatest trait/talent you can have is availability, and he has it and he’s shown it.”
With 5:41 remaining in the game, Bridges defended a drive by Orlando’s Jalen Suggs and came up limping, slow to get to his feet. Brunson waved to the bench, not for a sub but to assure the coaching staff that Bridges was staying on the floor. And he did.
It’s a lesson he learned from his mother, from his high school coaches and at Villanova. He never missed a game in college, either.
Did he ever think he would have to sit out because of a bump or bruise? “I had multiple,” he said. “I had a good amount. Pretty much every year. Things where I’m like, ‘Damn.’ But I got to make sure I take care of it at night and in the morning and be good to go.”
Bridges, whose defense, long one of his calling cards, has come under fire this season, was the primary defender on Suggs and limited him all night. Suggs (nine points) shot 1-for-12 in the first half and 4-for-19 for the game.
Thibodeau has long cherished availability as one of the most important abilities.
“I think it’s important,” he said. “You want to be able to count on people every night. We have a bunch of guys like that, so we’re fortunate. You build off of that. You’re building habits throughout the course of the year so you can improve and be playing your best at the end of the year . . . I think it’s great. Just the way he works, it’s great for our organization.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
