New York Knicks guard Mikal Bridges undoubtedly had his worst performance of the season on Friday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, in which New York lost decisively 126-101.
Mikal Bridges struggled mightily against the Thunder
Bridges played 32 minutes in the game and failed to score a point, his first scoreless outing of the season. He shot 0-for-9 from the floor and 0-for-7 from three, and his struggles amplify what has been a rough start to the new year.
The Knicks have lost four of their last five games after winning nine games in a row. The uninspiring performance against the Thunder on Friday led to a sea of boos from the Madison Square Garden crowd as Oklahoma City put on a clinic, further separating the gap between the two teams.
Bridges acknowledged that his performance on Friday was unacceptable and understood why he and his team were being booed on their home floor.
“I get that, missing shots, that’s something you really can’t control, just keep making them, keep getting them up” Bridges said (h/t SNY). “Defensively a lot of miscues, a lack of communication, which is very boo-worthy. I’m not tripping. That’s just got to be better.”
Bridges and the Knicks have gotten off to a slow start to 2025
After having a great December in which Bridges had the highest plus-minus in the NBA, he started to struggle again in January. In six games this month, he is averaging just 17.2 points and shooting 19.6% from three. He has hit a wall with his jump shot and his struggles are costing them winnable games.
Of course, Bridges is not exclusive in this, as the team as a whole has had problems shooting from long range in recent weeks. Over their last 10 games entering Saturday, they are shooting just 28% from three. Alarmingly, they are taking significantly fewer threes than they were at the start of the season.
The Knicks have several good shooters on the roster, so the hope is that this is simply a prolonged slump that will end sooner rather than later. However, they need to turn things around fast before they undo all of the good from the winning streak.
Their next two games will be true tests, as they take on the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday afternoon before facing the red-hot Detroit Pistons on Monday. This is the time for New York to prove that they belong in the same conversation as other title contenders.