Mikal Bridges shuts down Trae Young to earn standing ovation at MSG: ‘That’s what I get paid for’

Miles McBride understands the premise. As 1 of the Knicks’ amended perimeter defenders, helium sees the workload Mikal Bridges carries connected a nightly basis.

It’s wherefore McBride is yelling “First Team All-Defense!” astatine his locker.

Because 9 times retired of 10, it’s Bridges who’s liable for guarding the opposing team’s champion player.

This is his caller beingness aft the commercialized that sent 4 first-round picks positive a prime swap to the Nets for his services.

On galore nights, Bridges has mislaid his matchup, and adjacent though defending the league’s elite players is much a relation of squad defence than idiosyncratic effort, it’s the load helium singularly wears arsenic the team’s dedicated constituent of onslaught defender.

“Sometimes,” McBride tells the Daily News, “guys are going to get you.”

For Bridges, Monday was not 1 of those nights.

Instead, galore successful attendance arsenic portion of a sellout Madison Square Garden assemblage for the Knicks’ Monday nighttime triumph implicit the Atlanta Hawks roseate to their feet and applauded Bridges’ unrelenting effort.

It happened with conscionable implicit six minutes near successful the archetypal quarter: Bridges hounded crafty Hawks’ All-Star Trae Young, The Garden’s cheers intensifying each clip the Knicks prima cut-off 1 of Young’s driving lanes.

The Garden past erupted erstwhile Bridges forced a 24-second changeable timepiece usurpation connected 1 of the much talented scorers successful each of basketball.

“I cognize he’s crafty and didn’t privation him to score, and I cognize my teammates person my backmost and conscionable trying to defender him,” Bridges said aft the game. “I heard The Garden. It got loud.”

Young finished with a team-high 27 points but changeable an inefficient 8-of-22 from the field. He turned the shot implicit 9 times to conscionable six assists, his decision-making troubles exacerbated nether the unit Bridges applied from the opening tip.

“To defender Trae; he’s specified a pugnacious cover. And there’s a cardinal pick-and-rolls you person to defend. Sometimes you tin support them truly good and helium tin marque [a shot],” caput manager Tom Thibodeau said aft the game. “So I thought helium was truly disciplined. You person to beryllium that. And helium kept going. So I deliberation that’s important.”

It was particularly welcoming fixed the Knicks’ struggles stopping Young and the Hawks earlier this season. Monday’s triumph was lone a period and a week removed from 1 of the much embarrassing losses of the Knicks season, an NBA Cup quarterfinal nonaccomplishment Young punctuated by rolling a acceptable of imaginary dice connected The Garden’s center-court logo.

Young changeable 8-of-22 that night, and 7-of-21 from the tract against the Knicks connected Nov. 6 — some wins implicit New York — but logged double-digit assists connected with 3 oregon less turnovers connected some occasions.

Bridges’ antiaircraft effort made the quality connected Monday.

“He was conscionable relentless. That’s the mode you’ve gotta beryllium with a feline similar Trae due to the fact that he’s gonna person the shot successful his hands,” McBride told The News. “He’s moving the astir prime and rolls successful the league. [Mikal has] been relentless and continuously pursuing the ball.”

And it’s what the Knicks request to spot much of — due to the fact that the challenges won’t halt immoderate clip soon.

OG Anunoby has not chiefly guarded constituent guards successful Thibodeau’s antiaircraft scheme. It’s mostly Bridges tasked with chasing astir the opponent’s pb guard. That means battles with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, Donovan Mitchell and, against the Boston Celtics, Jayson Tatum.

“The happening you admit astir what helium does is helium does it each night,” said Thibodeau. “Every nighttime there’s a pugnacious cover. He doesn’t tally distant from it. He embraces it. That’s what you need.”

Bridges is attempting to anchor the New York defence from the outside-in. This is his caller beingness connected the different broadside of the Brooklyn Bridge. The discourtesy has travel along, and his 26 points connected 12-of-17 shooting helped assistance the Knicks to victory, but discourtesy isn’t the occupation successful New York.

Fixing the defence is apical priority, and if Bridges tin defender each nighttime the mode helium did against Young, it volition beryllium a large measurement successful the close absorption — though his occupation statement requires guarding players who get paid hundreds of millions of dollars to get by immoderate defender, Bridges included.

“It’s a bully challenge. That’s what I’m present for. That’s what I get paid for,” helium said. “And similar I ever said, I got my teammates down maine truthful it’s ne'er conscionable maine against that guy. So it’s conscionable squad defence and effort my champion to effort to disrupt.”

“It’s the league. Every nighttime is gonna beryllium idiosyncratic different, and I consciousness similar for him, he’s conscionable a idiosyncratic wherever it’s like, he’s gonna bash immoderate helium tin to dilatory them down,” McBride added. “I consciousness similar his attack to each nighttime knowing that he’s gonna person that situation has been large for us.”