Mikal Bridges Was X-Factor in Knicks Win Over Spurs

Since the All-Star break, New York Knicks guard Mikal Bridges had been going through a rough patch. Against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Feb. 24, he took 17 shots and made just six, with mid-rangers and threes simply not falling.

Bridges has never missed a single game in his entire NBA career, playing over 570 consecutive games, and after that Cavaliers performance, a lot of people started wondering if that relentless workload was finally catching up to him.

But yesterday, against the hottest team in the NBA, he had his answer.

The San Antonio Spurs walked into MSG riding an 11-game winning streak. They wasted no time making their presence felt, jumping out to a 19-7 lead behind Victor Wembanyama and Devin Vassell. It looked like more of the same for Bridges early. Then he hit a two, and everything changed.

New York went on a 26-2 run, and Bridges was the engine behind it. He was hitting threes, finishing in transition, and picking Spurs pockets left and right. He capped the run with a fast-break dunk off a Wembanyama turnover that pushed the lead to 33-21. The Spurs never really threatened again.

A lot of that came down to how the Knicks defended. Bridges talked about it after the game as seen in a video posted by SNY, and it was clear this was something the team had been building toward.

"Yeah, I think just especially in pick and roll and I think just helping the helper. I think just helping more. I think in the past, sometimes we're leaving guys on the island and not trusting each other as much. But, you know, we talked about it and know we had to be better, and, you know, we keep getting better at it," he said.

Mikal Bridges talks about what the Knicks have improved defensively as a team recently pic.twitter.com/IDmK8VSd9i
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) March 1, 2026

Mikal Bridges Stats and Impact in Knicks Win Over Spurs

Bridges finished with 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting, went 5-of-9 from three, and added five rebounds and five steals. The steals were especially damaging, as every time San Antonio tried to build something, he was there to take it away and turn it into points on the other end.

His teammate noticed. In a post shared by reporter Jared Schwartz on X, Josh Hart, who finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds himself, said: "Sometimes, the ball has energy to it. He was able to knock down some of those shots, get involved and then defensively he was able to play the passing lanes, you saw that today. It's great to really get him going."

Josh Hart on Mikal Bridges:

“Sometimes, the ball has energy to it. He was able to knock down some of those shots, get involved and then defensively he was able to play the passing lanes, you saw that today. It’s great to really get him going.”
— Jared Schwartz (@jschwartz115) March 1, 2026

Brunson added 24 points, Karl-Anthony Towns pulled down 14 rebounds, and Mohamed Diawara chipped in 14 off the bench. The final score was 114-89, but this was a Mikal Bridges game. He found his rhythm at exactly the right time, and with the Toronto Raptors up next, that is a very good sign for New York.

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