Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic <\/p>\n
Wednesday night felt like an apt summation of Mikal Bridges\u2019 first year as a Knick.<\/p>\n
Extended stretches where he struggled, but a spurt that showed why Leon Rose and the Knicks were willing to send the Nets a haul of assets \u2014 including five first-round draft picks \u2014 to bring him to the Garden.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just like you can now throw out Bridges\u2019 uneven regular season, you can do the same with his first three quarters of Game 2. <\/p>\n
His final period was that impactful, Bridges leading the Knicks back from a 20-point deficit and making the game-deciding defensive play to give them a stunning 2-0 lead over the Celtics in this Eastern Conference semifinal series.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Really, Bridges has turned the narrative of his first season in orange and blue on its head with his play this postseason, especially of late. <\/p>\n
You can\u2019t find a Knicks fan complaining about those dealt draft picks anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s only right that all talk that people have done about Mikal, when the lights are the brightest, he gets to show his work,\u201d Karl-Anthony Towns said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bridges was terrific in the opening-round clincher against the Pistons, pouring in 25 points and pulling the Knicks even in the final minute with his athletic tip-in. <\/p>\n
Then, there was crunch time in the first two games against Boston. <\/p>\n
Bridges was everywhere in overtime of Game 1, hitting a huge 3-pointer, setting up an OG Anunoby dunk with a steal and ripping the ball away from Jaylen Brown in the closing seconds to seal the dramatic victory. <\/p>\n
In Game 2, he shook off an 0-for-8 start from the field to score all 14 of his points in the fourth quarter, then stole the Jayson Tatum pass to ice that win.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wednesday night, Bridges spent a good portion of his scrum with reporters talking up his teammates and coaches, crediting them for their belief in him. <\/p>\n
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It wasn\u2019t an easy year. Bridges arrived with high expectations and didn\u2019t always live up to them. <\/p>\n
The Knicks\u2019 support has been steadfast, just like Game 2, when he couldn\u2019t find his shot over the first three quarters and their hopes of winning a second straight at TD Garden dimmed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really, truly been them just holding me together and keeping me mentally right and just telling me to keep going,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I think coach [Tom Thibodeau] also is just trusting me \u2014 coming out in the fourth, running a play for me, putting that confidence in me. But man, it\u2019s really my teammates and my coaches, man. They really held me up.\u201d<\/p>\n
This was the vision when the Knicks traded for Bridges, that he would form a dynamic 1-2 wing punch with Anunoby. <\/p>\n
The Celtics and their All-Star wings Tatum and Brown were the team in mind, the opponent the Knicks had to get past. It didn\u2019t work out during the regular season. <\/p>\n
Boston swept the season series and Bridges and Anunoby struggled.<\/p>\n
But through two games, the Knicks\u2019 wings have been up to the task. Tatum and Brown are a combined 27-for-85. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s the two shots they haven\u2019t taken that have loomed the largest \u2014 two Bridges steals to ice back-to-back, come-from-behind wins. <\/p>\n
When Bridges is the primary defender, Celtics players are 10-for-26.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Throughout the season, when he wasn\u2019t performing as well as some may have liked, his old Villanova teammates always had his back. <\/p>\n
Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson never wavered in their confidence that he would be there when it mattered most. In the last week, they have been proven prophetic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou really can\u2019t say enough about his toughness and grit and mentality,\u201d Hart said. \u201cHe had 14 points, he went into the fourth with no points. And [in the] fourth quarter he made huge plays for us offensively to keep us in the game. Defensively, he has the ability to change the whole course of a game. You give him credit, even when his shot is not falling, he\u2019s making huge plays.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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