Mikal Bridges’ impressive Knicks showing goes beyond big scoring night

Mikal Bridges led the Knicks with 28 points and had a wild plus-43 in Monday night’s 143-106 win over Memphis at Madison Square Garden.

But perhaps his most important contribution came on defense, as he helped shut down Grizzlies star Ja Morant, who scored just 10 points on 5-for-13 shooting in the rout.

“I thought Mikal really worked,” Tom Thibodeau said of Bridges holding Morant down.

“I thought our team did.”

It was no easy feat, as Morant has been held to fewer points just twice this season.

“A guy like that, you try to make him work,” Thibodeau said of the guard, who is in the midst of an inconsistent season. “He’s a superstar. He’s an offense unto himself. Some shots he just missed that were good shots for him that didn’t go in. But I thought our team really worked together and I really like the effort Mikal put forth. It’s not an easy job. There’s constant pressure when he has the ball and he plays incredibly fast.”