Mikal Bridges, Karl-Anthony Towns bringing Knicks to ‘another level’ with defensive chemistry

Perhaps the best indication of what’s important for these Knicks — or what’s most relevant to their status as either contenders or pretenders — was the theme of Wednesday night’s postgame locker room interviews. 

The players, already solidified as one of the NBA’s best starting fives, had just finished setting a Knicks record for most points in three consecutive games.

They averaged a ridiculous 136 points over that stretch. The franchise has been around since the 1940s and never scored that much. 

But there was something more notable about the way the Knicks handled their business this week. They stifled two of the NBA’s best offenses against Memphis and Denver. 

They smothered both with defense and were proud of it. 

“We’ve been able to show all of y’all,” Karl-Anthony Towns declared, “that we have another level or two to go.”