The Knicks’ Mikal Bridges sat on the bench for almost the entire fourth quarter due to poor shooting

SALT LAKE CITY — Mikal Bridges understood why he didn’t return to Saturday’s game.

The imported Knicks starter endured his toughest ball game of the season, failing to get past the final 10:03 of a 121-106 loss to the Jazz.

Bridges scored a season-low seven points on 3-for-15 shooting, including six misses on seven attempts from 3, in 33 minutes. He prevailed down the stretch in favor of veteran guard Cam Payne.

“Obviously I had problems, but our biggest goal is to win,” Bridges said after the game. “Cam 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.”

Tom Thibodeau said he stuck with Payne – who scored 11 points with five assists in 31 minutes off the bench – because he brought needed energy, especially during a 17-0 run that pulled the Knicks within two late in the third quarter brought points.

“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. In the end I almost went back to Jericho (Sims) 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.”

Bridges, acquired from the Nets in the summer, entered Saturday’s game averaging 38.6 minutes per game, leading the NBA.

His lowest point total was an eight-point effort against the Pacers on November 10th.