Mikal Bridges saw limited action in the second half of the New York Knicks' 133-127 victory against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, as coach Mike Brown turned to reserves Tyler Kolek, Jordan Clarkson, and Landry Shamet to secure the win. Bridges played only three minutes after halftime and finished with three points in a total of 13 minutes, marking his shortest appearance as a Knick outside of brief stints to maintain his consecutive games played streak. He has struggled to start the season, according to reports.
The strategic shift was prompted by the effectiveness of the Kolek-Jalen Brunson backcourt combination, according to Brown. "We just found a combination we went with," Brown stated. "One of the things [assistant coach] Rick Brunson suggested was throwing Kolek in the game with Jalen. Just to give them a different look and get Jalen off the ball and put Tyler on the floor."
This adjustment meant extended minutes for Jordan Clarkson and Landry Shamet, who performed well. "Doing that, playing Jordan Clarkson extended minutes, Landry was playing well," Brown explained. "Now there’s not much room. And the combination we had out there, we kept playing well. It was harder to go back to what we started with."
Kolek, Clarkson, and Shamet combined for 41 points and 15 assists off the bench. Shamet contributed 14 points.
The game also featured a couple of injury scares in the first half. Karl-Anthony Towns experienced a hard fall midway through the first quarter after being hit by a defender, initially appearing to injure his left hand and wrist. He left the game briefly but returned with taped hand and wrist, finishing with 19 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists. "He was still shooting that thing from 30 feet," Brown commented. "So the wrist looked good to me."
Later in the second quarter, Landry Shamet appeared to twist his ankle after completing a dunk and colliding with a Bulls defender. Like Towns, Shamet returned to the game shortly after.
