{"id":729754,"date":"2026-05-09T11:51:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T11:51:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/729754\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T11:51:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T11:51:17","slug":"knicks-jalen-brunson-reveals-what-makes-mikal-bridges-special","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/729754\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks\u2019 Jalen Brunson reveals what makes Mikal Bridges special"},"content":{"rendered":"

Knicks\u2019 Jalen Brunson reveals what makes Mikal Bridges special<\/a> appeared first on ClutchPoints<\/a>. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The New York Knicks<\/a> are one victory away from punching their ticket to another Eastern Conference Finals appearance. After Friday\u2019s commanding 108-94 Game 3 win<\/a> over the Philadelphia 76ers<\/a>, Jalen Brunson<\/a> made it clear that the team\u2019s postseason success goes far beyond talent alone. Following the road victory in Philadelphia<\/a>, Brunson opened up about what truly separates longtime teammate Mikal Bridges<\/a> from other players.<\/p>\n

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As the \u201cNova Knicks\u201d continue rolling through the 2026 NBA Playoffs, Bridges once again delivered a crucial two-way performance. He finished with 23 points while helping suffocate the Sixers on the perimeter. According to Brunson, though, the foundation of Bridges\u2019 growth traces back to a trait that has never changed since their Villanova days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best part that I\u2019ve seen about Mikal, from the first time I met him to now, [is] his work ethic,\u201d Brunson told reporters. He later added, \u201cHis approach to the game and everything, and how he\u2019s grown as a worker and professiona\u2026 it\u2019s a testament to who he is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under head coach Mike Brown, New York has leaned heavily into its Villanova chemistry. Bridges has become one of the emotional and tactical pillars<\/a> of the playoff run.<\/p>\n

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Bridges\u2019 postseason journey has mirrored the Knicks themselves. It has been steady, resilient, and increasingly dangerous. After averaging just 10.0 points during the opening-round series against the Atlanta Hawks<\/a>, including a scoreless Game 3, Bridges found his rhythm late with a 24-point explosion in the clinching Game 6.<\/p>\n

He has carried that confidence into the second round. Now, he is shooting an efficient 59.7 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three-point range through eight playoff games. Bridges\u2019 two-way reliability<\/a> has become really valuable for New York as it prepares for a potential sweep in Sunday\u2019s Game 4.<\/p>\n

Related: How Knicks star Jalen Brunson became Mike Brown\u2019s Peanuts-style safety blanket<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Paul George tips his hat to Knicks\u2019 Jalen Brunson after huge Game 3 vs. 76ers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Knicks\u2019 Jalen Brunson reveals what makes Mikal Bridges special appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":729755,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3776],"tags":[676,208,3874,7,677,288,1260,6,191,678,207,24218],"class_list":["post-729754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-atlanta-hawks","tag-atlanta","tag-atlanta-hawks","tag-atlantahawks","tag-basketball","tag-hawks","tag-jalen-brunson","tag-mikal-bridges","tag-nba","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-76ers","tag-postseason-success"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116544476506168722","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/729754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=729754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/729754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/729755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=729754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=729754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=729754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}