Mikal Bridges tried to be polite, claiming he didn’t do a good job guarding Brandon Ingram.
But then Miles McBride called out from the locker next to him, praising Bridges’ effort.
“You did great,” McBride said.
This was a more accurate representation of Bridges’ performance.
Ingram has been the main reason the Raptors have been one of the NBA’s surprise teams this season.
But he committed more turnovers than made field goals during the Knicks’ 116-94 win at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night.
Bridges was at the center of it.
He competed primarily against Ingram and held him to just 14 points on 4-for-11 shooting from the field.
There have only been two games this year in which Ingram scored fewer than 14 points.
He also had five turnovers Sunday and was a game-worst minus-22.
“It’s really hard for guys like Ingram to quote-unquote ‘shut them down,'” coach Mike Brown said. “For us, we always talk about, there are five guys guarding the basketball. Mikal was at the point of attack against Ingram, and he did a great job.”
Ingram entered Sunday averaging a team-high 21.9 points.
Normally, that would be an assignment for the Knicks’ best defender, OG Anunoby, who almost always matches up with the opponents’ best scorer.
But with a hamstring injury sidelining him, Bridges has recently taken over the job.
He had mixed results in that role.
But during their current four-game winning streak, Bridges has been more consistent, recording nine steals and six blocks.
“I’m just trying to do anything I can to help my team win,” Bridges said. “That’s pretty much it. Just trying to stay in shifts, trying to make plays on the ball, trying to help my teammates.”
Bridges’ ability to keep opponents in front of him and out of the game has been a key to the Knicks’ improved team defense overall.
It also sets a tone for his peers to follow.
“To hold a group like that to 94 points speaks volumes about our defensive stance tonight,” Brown said. “You’re not going to do that with the Raptors night after night. Our physicality was huge for us without foul trouble getting back in transition.”
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