Mikal Bridges’ Breakout Night in Toronto Was About More Than Just Buckets
The Knicks walked into Toronto on Wednesday night dragging the weight of recent struggles, missing key pieces, and still managed to flip a sluggish start into a 27-point blowout win. But what stood out most wasn’t the final score - it was Mikal Bridges, not just for how he played, but for what he said afterward.
When MSG Network’s Walt Frazier caught up with Bridges postgame, the forward didn’t offer the usual clichés. Instead, he delivered something rare in pro sports: raw honesty.
“I think I just wasn’t playing how I was supposed to be playing,” Bridges admitted. “I think I wasn’t coachable enough.
I don’t know what it is, maybe I felt too much entitlement. Just had to kind of talk to myself a little bit about it and just be coachable, be the best teammate I can be and then let the basketball speak for itself.”
That kind of self-awareness doesn’t show up in the box score, but it might matter just as much. Because for a player like Bridges - who’s often tasked with doing the little things on a team loaded with offensive firepower - accountability like that can be contagious.
Josh Hart certainly thought so. He took to social media to praise Bridges, calling it “the realest and most impressive postgame interview you will ever see.”
On the court, Bridges backed it up. After a quiet start - and we mean really quiet, as in 20 minutes without even attempting a shot - he found his rhythm and exploded.
A turnaround jumper got him going late in the second quarter, and from there, he was lights out. Bridges finished with 30 points on 12-of-15 shooting, including a scorching 7-for-8 in the third quarter alone.
And this wasn’t a night where everything was clicking for the Knicks. Deuce McBride and Mitchell Robinson were out.
Jalen Brunson was clearly under the weather. Karl-Anthony Towns couldn’t find his shot.
The offense needed someone to step up - and Bridges did, just when it mattered most.
After the game, he broke it down with a calm clarity that shows just how much the mental side of the game matters to him.
“I was talking to Landry [Shamet] about it,” Bridges said. “It’s a mental thing. Not worrying about it, knowing that you’re aggressive and trying to make plays on both ends, the basketball gods will bless you at one point.”
He wasn’t wrong. Sometimes, it’s about staying in the moment, trusting your instincts, and letting the game come to you. That’s exactly what happened in Toronto - Bridges didn’t force it, he found his spots, and his teammates found him.
“Keep playing the right way,” he added. “Don’t even think about it. So much game left and we’ve got so much talent… just be patient and keep trying to find your moments.”
And that’s the tightrope Bridges walks every night. On a starting five that includes scorers like Brunson, Towns, and OG Anunoby - all of whom have dropped 40 in a game at some point - there are only so many shots to go around. Bridges doesn’t always get the volume, but when he’s locked in, he changes the game with his efficiency, defense, and versatility.
Still, his name has surfaced in recent trade chatter, with speculation swirling around the Knicks’ potential pursuit of a blockbuster move. That comes with the territory when you’re the guy traded for five first-round picks and signed to a four-year, $150 million extension. Fair or not, that price tag brings expectations.
Bridges has never been one to duck tough questions. Last season, he stirred conversation with candid comments about Tom Thibodeau’s rotation decisions. This season, he’s still speaking his mind - not to stir the pot, but to hold himself accountable.
In the locker room after the win in Toronto, Bridges clarified that his postgame remarks weren’t just about one off night or one slump. They were about a broader stretch, a feeling that had been building as the Knicks dropped nine of their last 11.
“Just in general, I think in the past weeks… just figuring out our team, I feel like I just wasn’t being coachable to my standard,” he said. “Maybe I’m feeling too entitled or something.
Something that I had to just sit down and talk to myself about a little bit, look yourself in the mirror - what type of player you want to be? It was affecting me personally on both ends.”
That’s the kind of reflection that can shift a season. For a Knicks team still searching for consistency - and still dealing with injuries and illness - Bridges’ performance and perspective might be just what they need.
Because when the basketball starts speaking for Mikal Bridges, it tends to say a lot.