Mikal Bridges won’t talk much about himself. At least not on offense. But a game like Sunday’s was long overdue. And in one of the biggest spots of the season — in a potential NBA championship preview — Bridges paid his bill in full. Or at least brought himself current. The Knicks star score d a team-high 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field to help his team punch a 25-point victory over the West’s No. 2-seeded San Antonio Spurs in a matinee showdown at Madison Square Garden. Asked about his well-rounded performance — he also had five steals and five rebounds — Bridges deferred to the support around him: “My teammates,” he said. “Pretty much them. Ain’t nothing to it.” And asked again about the scoring — Sunday marked Bridges’ first 20-point game since the All-Star break — Bridges downplayed his role on offense even more. “It’s nice,” he said. “But just trying to get the energy going on defense. “We’ve got a lot of guys who can score, so sometimes the touches might be limited, but just control what I can control, and that’s bring energy on both ends and try to make the right read and be aggressive.” There’s nothing to downplay about Bridges’ performance against the Spurs. It was a much-needed moment of reprieve for a star who hasn’t found the bottom of the net with much consistency this season. Bridges is averaging just 15.6 points per game. It’s his lowest scoring output since his 2021-22 season with the Phoenix Suns — the first season Bridges and Landry Shamet spent as teammates in Phoenix. Shamet and Bridges have been close ever since, and while Bridges won’t toot his own horn on offense, Shamet abides by a different set of rules. He’s happy to see his teammate smiling, celebrating and making an impact on both sides of the floor the way he’s proven capable over the course of his career. “It’s fun [watching him score like that]. He’s dunking, man. His nose’s bleeding,” said Shamet. “Mikal’s at his best when he’s playing and he’s free and he’s having fun. It’s good to see.” Shamet knows Bridges’ struggle well. Bridges is a versatile wing who has proven capable of shouldering larger offensive responsibilities in the past, but, like all others in New York, is being asked to sacrifice, primarily on the offensive end, for the greater good of the team. “He’s an incredible player. Obviously we all know where he came from before he got here. He’s capable of being in larger roles,” said Shamet. “He’s capable of being the 3-and-D guy in Phoenix for six years. He’s able to do so much as a basketball player, and for him to have a night like tonight, it’s just good to see. “It’s good for the group. He plays the right way and that rewards you. It might not get all the glory every night, but he can have a few nights where he [gets the love].” Like the Knicks, however, Bridges has been wildly inconsistent. He had back-to-back 22-point games leading into the All-Star break, then posted just eight points in 25 minutes in a disappointing loss to the Detroit Pistons. And he scored 11 or fewer points in four of the five games leading into his 25-point eruption against the Spurs on Sunday. “Yeah, he’s someone that can score the ball. Sometimes, the ball has energy and you have to get him some of those shots and get him involved,” said Josh Hart. “On defense, he’s playing the passing lane and you kind of saw that today. It’s great to really see him get him going, and get him going in some games, and really feed off of it.” Those kinds of scoring fluctuations won’t cut it — especially if the defense is inconsistent, too — for a player the Knicks acquired by trading five first-round picks in an outright haul for the Nets. Bridges understands his team won’t need him to score like this every night, not with Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby and other capable scorers available to go for 20 or more each game. The Knicks don’t need Bridges to average 20. They need him to threaten to score 20 to keep defenses honest. On Sunday, Bridges broke free. “[His season has been] a process,” said Mike Brown. “New coach, new system, defensively, offensively. Not only that, new team or guys behind him. “So again: Guys don’t always get the minutes and/or shots that they want, but the neat part about it is our first standard is about sacrificing, and everybody in that room is willing to sacrifice to make sure that we’re trying to achieve one common goal, and Mikal is one of those guys.” ...read more read less