Knicks Notes: Bridges, Towns, Dadiet, Robinson

For at least one night, Curtsy forward Mikal Bridges Concerns about his shooting dissipated, Newsday’s Barbara Barker writes. After being benched in the fourth quarter of Friday’s game due to his poor performance, Bridges responded Sunday against New Orleans with 31 points, going 12 of 19 from the field and 7 of 12 from three-point range. It was a welcome sign from Bridges, who has largely been disappointing since being acquired from Brooklyn in an offseason trade.

“The way he played was confident and it was fluid. I love watching it,” Jalen Brunson said. “I just read the defense. If you leave someone open, the ball has to go in at some point. And as soon as someone attacks him, the floodgates open. I’ve seen it before and I’m not too worried about him.”

The Knicks have won seven of their last nine games despite Bridges’ struggles, but they will ultimately need consistent performance from him to be legitimate contenders in the Eastern Conference. Several teammates expressed support for Bridges after Friday’s game, saying he was still adjusting after joining a new team where he was no longer the leading scorer.

“We knew he had the confidence and our job was to continue to find him when he was open and today he was great for us on both ends,” Josh Hart said. “He had great energy on offense and as a defender. And made his shots. That’s our guy. We trust him. We trust him to make the shots. Middle class, turnarounds. We want him to be aggressive. This is the Mikal we know.”

There’s more from New York:

• Karl Anthony cities saw a decline in his rebounding numbers while playing on the sidelines Rudy Gobert in Minnesota, but he’s back to normal since being traded to New York and becoming a center again, notes Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. Towns had 19 boards Sunday and has a career-high 13.0 so far this season. “With Rudy, he played a lot more outside the basket.” trainer Tom Thibodeau said. “He’s a great rebounder. Always been a great rebounder. He’s longer than you think, long arms, strong, really strong. Great anticipation. His experiences also helped him a lot.”
• Pacome Dadiet was assigned to the G-League over the weekend, and Thibodeau suggested this could be a regular occurrence for the first-round pick, Bondy adds. Dadiet had some rotations just a few minutes earlier in the season, but with a healthy roster there is likely no regular role for him. “(It’s) situational.” Thibodeau said. “So there was an opportunity to get some game time, take advantage of it that way. And he will be back with us for training. The nice thing about it is the structure where we both practice in the same building. So take advantage of it.”
• James L. Edwards III and Fred Katz of The Athletic discuss several Knicks topics, including whether Bridges’ defense is a concern and how Town’s role will change and when Mitchell Robinson Returning from injury, Hart’s efficient shooting and why the team struggles with defenses that switch frequently.