Rejuvenated Knicks Turn in More Clutch Heroics

As brilliant as he's been as the designated closer, it's been his longtime teammate who's had most of the big moments of the series.

No, not Josh Hart; the two friends have suited up for the Knicks for three straight postseasons, but he's not who we're talking about here. Mikal Bridges, their old Villanova co-star, has shaken off his disappointing regular season in regaining his two-way prowess.

He was all offense this season, trying to help the Knicks as a spot-up weapon without the same shooting success he's posted over his last few years. The defense that helped define him as a contending staple on the Phoenix Suns of the early 2020s, however, looked a bit diminished as Bridges attempted to re-acclimate to a backseat role.

Bridges had his moments of scoring impact through the first three games of this series, but stole the show in both of the Knicks' 20-point comebacks to get the seven-game matchup started. It was he who tied up Jaylen Brown's last-second shot attempt in the closing seconds of Game 1, and he emerged again for the Game 2-sealing swat on Jayson Tatum's attempt at a winner.

The Knicks slipped in Game 3, allowing the Celtics to cruise to a dominant win without any New York funny business, but Game 4 was arguably the tightest end-to-end game of the bunch.

It was the first matchup in which neither team seized a 20-point lead at any point, and Bridges was lights out from the mid range. His particular brand of pull-up shotmaking helped him post some impressive stats as a Brooklyn Net in recent seasons, and he finally rediscovered that creative touch in a tight pinch.

The Celtics have plenty of defenders to try to throw the slight Bridges off of his spots, but the ease at which he gets his looks off made him too tall for the Boston guards and their eight combined All-Defensive Team appearances.

And those were necessary buckets. Bridges made seven of his 11 buckets in the second half, including the pivotal non-Brunson minutes to open the fourth quarter. Shots like these demonstrate how dangerous he is when he's on, a decisive multi-level shooter with a release point out of any wing's reach, and he nearly-singlehandedly steered the Knicks into regaining the lead in the early goings of that final quarter.

By the time Brunson returned to seal the deal, Bridges had enough rhythm to continue dealing damage as a pure play-finisher, enough to deal this dagger right before Jayson Tatum went down with that looked like a devastating lower leg injury.

Bridges was excellent as an offensive release valve, and still made his usual defensive contributions of four steals and a block to keep the pressure on Boston. With their brand new 3-1 advantage, these Knicks stand at the precipice of making their first conference finals in a quarter century with the first-year New Yorker getting it done as the second-best Knick across this pivotal series.