With All-Stars Jalen Brunson (4-of-16) and Karl-Anthony Towns (5-of-14) enduring poor shooting nights, the onus was on Mikal Bridges to step up for the Knicks in Game 5 of their playoff series against the Pistons.
Bridges did just that with 13 fourth-quarter points that nearly helped the Knicks pull off a comeback victory. However, the Vilanova alum missed a vital three-pointer with 1:17 left in the fourth quarter that could have sealed a Knicks victory.
After the game, Bridges became a butt of jokes on social media, with many Pistons fans thanking the Knicks for relying on the seventh-year forward more so than Brunson and Towns. Even Pistons guard Malik Beasley got into the act.
While responding to a fan’s pregame prediction about Bridges scoring 44 points, Beasley asked: “Minutes?”
Incidentally, Bridges did not play 44 minutes. None of the Knicks starters logged 40 minutes, a rare instance in the Tom Thibodeau era.
Are the Knicks in Trouble?
With the Game 5 loss in the rearview mirror, the Knicks must now look ahead to Game 6 back in Detroit. A loss would mean a must-win Game 7 back in New York.
Although the Knicks take a 3-2 series lead into Detroit, they received a huge break with an officiating blunder at the end of Game 4. At least four games have been decided by six points or less, meaning the Pistons have been within an arm’s length each time.
Towns realizes that his team needs to tighten the screws in Game 6.
“We haven’t put ourselves in position to get commanding wins,” Towns said, via The Athletic. “We’ve been very gritty this whole series and physical. It’s allowed us to find a way a lot of the time. What’s the differential in Detroit? Like three points? So, you know, you can only do it so many times before it comes back to bite you. Tonight, we put ourselves in the position but couldn’t find a way to get that win.”
If the Knicks get bounced out in the first round, the future of head coach Tom Thibodeau could be in jeopardy.
Knicks Under Enormous Pressure
ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins believes the Knicks could fire their longtime head coach if they fail to reach at least the Eastern Conference Finals, given the pair of blockbuster trades they made in the 2024 offseason to bring in Towns and Bridges.
“I’m looking at Tom Thibodeau right now, and I’m saying you’re in the hot seat,” Perkins told ESPN’s “Get Up” on April 11. “You’re under pressure. What they gave up to get Mikal Bridges, you go and you get Karl-Anthony Towns in the off-season. So, you basically went all in, and the Knicks are on record saying that we’re on record saying that we’re trying to get the personnel to match the defending champs.”
Thibodeau’s hot seat seemingly got hotter after the Knicks’ Game 5 loss to the Pistons. During the fourth quarter, Thibs and his coaching staff did not sub in Brunson and Josh Hart for nearly two crucial minutes, during which the Pistons outscored the Knicks 6-2.
Thibs defended his decision by noting that he wanted to save one of his timeouts.
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