Mikal Bridges' Advice Helps Knicks Solve Third Quarter Woes

Winfield described Bridges' solution as "half-joking, half-serious." But when the Knicks took the floor of Little Caesars Arena for the second of Game 6 on Thursday night, they lined up for layups as they prepared to erase a narrow, yet firm, 61-59 deficit.

The apparent swoon had started early for the Knicks, who saw a 14-point lead established after the opening dozen fully evaporate. Detroit ended the second period on a 10-2 run over the final two minutes.

But Bridges' solution proved so crazy it just had to work: ironically enough, it was Bridges himself who opened the second half with a driving double, tying the game 22 seconds in. It marked the tip of an eventual 13-point advantage established in the third, one that gave the Knicks a double-figure lead going into the vital frame.

Bridges led all scorers with 11 points in the third period on a perfect 4-of-4 mark. Though things got tense in the final minutes, New York ended up winning the game 116-113, securing advancement into the conference semifinal round for the third consecutive season.

Amusement reigned in the Knick locker room following Bridges' revelation: Karl-Anthony Towns hoped the "desperation" of Game 6 played a bigger factor in the surge rather than lay-up lines (h/t SNY) but Bridges' backup Cameron Payne hinted that his fellow first-year New Yorker may have forged a new identity for himself.

"That's his new name now? Layup line 'Kal?" Payne joked in the aftermath of Game 6 in video from SNY. "We get off to slow starts in the third. I guess, today, he (was) trying to get the game over. He (was) trying to go ahead and close the series out. Before we walked out, he was like, 'I need everybody out there doing these layups.' But I respect it, I respect it. It got us going. We came out in the third and played well. It was big time, everybody listened to him.”

Undefeated in the layup line era, the Knicks would perhaps be wise to continue to engage in Bridges' practice: their second-round opponent, the Boston Celtics, shot just under 47 percent from the field in their own opening round set and held a 5.6-point margin in scoring in the third quarter, best in the East and second-best overall behind Oklahoma City.