Mikal Bridges scored a game-high 15 points to lead the New York Knicks past the Minnesota Timberwolves, 100-95, in a preseason game Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
Bridges was 6 of 12 shooting and nailed three of his seven 3-point attempts. He played 25 minutes and started for Mike Brown's Knicks.
Three other starters played more than 20 minutes as head coach Mike Brown was looking to see what he can get from his front line players.
He did not get a good look at his starters as they did not play very well against the Western Conference runners up. Playing Minnesota is a lot different than playing the Philadelphia 76ers without their two top scorers.
Brown wants his team to run and to be the fastest team in the league, but the starters were humbled in the first half as they could not get up and down the floor and compete for second shots against Minnesota.
The starters were 15 of 45 from the field and went through a stretch in the second quarter where they made two of 15 shots.
The Knicks could not get uncorked from beyond the arc until late in the game. The Knicks were a horrid 4-for-27 from 3-point territory in the first half, which put them behind the eight-ball. They trailed the Timberwolves 44-38 at the halftime break. The Knicks finished the first half 12 of 45 from the field and shot the ball like there was a lid on the basket.
Guerschon Yabusele was 0 for 3 from 3-point territory. OG Anunoby, who started at forward, was 2 of 6 from 3 and had a few shots that missed the rim and the backboard.
Mitchell Robinson was a starter who only played 13 minutes at center and scored only one point, but he continued his rebound-fest as he grabbed six boards. He had 24 rebounds through the first two games against the 76ers in Abu Dhabi.
Guard Jalen Brunson scored 11 points in 27 minutes. He led the Knicks in time on the court. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 10 in 26 minutes of action.
The bench provided some much-needed assistance Thursday night and led the Knicks to victory. They played more zealously than the starters and just looked like they were playing harder.
Miles McBride played 27 minutes off the bench and chipped in with 10 points. He nailed three 3-pointers in the contest in seven attempts.
Brown was optimistic going into the game that the starters would perform well. He told reporters before the game that his starting five could be as good as any in the NBA.
“I think [our starting lineup] has a chance to be pretty good,” Brown said in his pregame press conference, via the New York Daily News. “They’re long, they’re big, they’re versatile and that’s what makes them exciting. So I think it has a chance to be pretty good, but at the end of the day, a lot of people want to start. A lot of people look at the starting unit as the be-all, end all, but, you know, to start is an honor but also to be able to finish games is an honor. Both hold a lot of weight.”