Knicks Notes: Bridges, Payne, McBride, Defense, Thibodeau

Poor shooting was a problem for Mikal Bridges since he joined Curtsyand on Saturday, he was benched for almost the entire fourth quarter in a loss at Utah, writes Peter Botte of the New York Post. Bridges did not play in the final 10 minutes of the game after going 3 of 15 from the field and 1 of 7 from three-point range. It was the continuation of a difficult season in which he posted a shooting differential of .469/.304/.636.

“Of course I had problems, but our biggest goal is to win.” Bridges said. “(Cameron Payne) came in and he played well. He was part of the team that made this run. I was more frustrated that I couldn’t be out there to help the team and frustrated that I couldn’t really do much the first three quarters that I was out there. But yes, I understand it. We’re trying to win a game and that’s all I care about, so I think it was the right decision.”

trainer Tom Thibodeau told reporters that he decided to keep Payne in the game because he brought energy to the team, particularly during a 17-0 run in the third quarter that nearly erased a big deficit. Payne ended up playing 31 minutes off the bench and finished with 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.

“I was just looking for something that could help us move forward.” Thibodeau said. “And it wasn’t just Mikal. I thought Cam came in and gave us a big spark. I almost went back Jericho (Sims) at the end because I thought his minutes were good for us too. When you get down like we do, you just look for anything to get you going. That’s exactly what we did.”

There’s more about the Knicks:

• Miles McBride was upgraded to questionable on Saturday but still missed his fifth straight game, Botte adds in a separate story. The team now calls his injury “patella-femoral syndrome,” more commonly known as “runner’s knee.” “He’s out.” Thibodeau said before the game. “He’s close. He’s doing more, but he’s not quite there yet. We’ll see where he is tomorrow.”
• According to Steve Popper of the New York Post, the Knicks were disappointed that their defense couldn’t save them on an overall poor shooting night. They built a good defensive reputation last season, but haven’t been able to reach that level so far. “We had problems defensively all season long” Josh Hart said. “If you don’t make shots and don’t play well defensively, it’s a recipe for disaster. We have to figure it out defensively. Offensively, we have enough talent on the offensive side to play well and win games, even if certain players won’t be there that day. But we have to figure it out defensively.”
• Thibodeau was a passionate coach throughout his career but was never sent off, according to James L. Edwards of the Athletic, who speaks to several referees about what it’s like to deal with Thibodeau during a game.