Bridges goes off for 31 points as Knicks rout depleted Pelicans

For the second straight game, Mikal Bridges spent most of the fourth quarter on the bench.

This time, however, the fact he was not on the floor was no reflection on his poor play.

Instead, Bridges left the court three minutes into the final period after scoring a season-high 31 points to help lead the Knicks to a 118-85 win over the injury-decimated New Orleans Pelicans Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

The loss was the eighth straight for the Pelicans, who set the ugly tone of the game by scoring just 28 points in the first half. According to Elias Sports Bureau, 28 points was the lowest total by a Knicks opponent in a first half since Golden State scored just 25 in a Nov. 20, 2001 game.

Bridges shot 12-for-19 overall and was 7-for-12 on three-pointers. “It was just my teammates and coaches picking me up and telling me to stay confident,” Bridges said when asked on court what helped him have a big scoring night. “My teammates just found me.”

The loss was the eighth straight for the Pelicans. The Knicks (12-8) have won seven of their last nine games.

Karl-Anthony Towns grabbed 19 rebounds and scored 14 points. Jalen Brunson scored 16 points and dished out nine assists.

New Orleans was playing without Jose Alvarado, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Jordan Hawkins and Herb Jones — five of its top eight players. The Knicks showed on their recent road trip, however, that they are capable of playing poorly against teams missing their top players.

On Wednesday, Dallas rolled past the Knicks, 129-114, despite the fact Luka Doncic was missing his fifth straight game with a wrist injury. Then, on Friday, the Knicks needed 31 points from Jalen Brunson, including his two free throws with eight seconds left, in order to get past a Charlotte team that was playing without three of its starters, including LaMelo Ball.

Bridges was benched for most of that fourth quarter in favor of Deuce McBride. Bridges entered Sunday’s game averaging 15.5 points per game, more than four points less than he did last season. He also was shooting a career-low 30.6% from beyond the arc.

Expectations were high for Bridges after the Knicks traded four unprotected first-round picks and a protected pick to the Nets for the shooter who played alongside Brunson and Josh Hart at Villanova. The Knicks, who also added Karl-Anthony Towns, were predicted by many to contend with Boston for the best record in the East.

Bridges shooting struggles have been increasingly blamed for the Knicks’ less-than-dominating start this season. After he didn’t play during crunch time in Charlotte, several of Bridges teammates spoke out in support of their shooter saying that it was only natural for him to take some time to adjust to a new role where he was no longer the top scoring option as he had been with the Nets.

I’m not worried about him. I think the media and people are killing him,” Hart said. “He’s in a new situation. He’s in a situation where he’s played [19] games in a different role than he’s played the last four years. So it’s our job to get him going.”

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau echoed those sentiments in his pregame news conference Sunday.

“The thing is, the game tells you what to do,” Thibodeau said when asked before the game if he felt there needed to be a focus to get Bridges going offensively. “That’s it. If you’re open, you shoot it.

“I think moving without the ball, he’s always been a great cutter, he’s always been good in transition. And then the corner threes he [has] shot extremely well throughout his career. So just take good shots. It’ll come around. He’s still averaging almost 16 points a game. Just help the team win. That’s the bottom line.”