New York Knicks forward Josh Hart poked fun at his ex-teammate from Villanova Mikal Bridges after beating him and his team 105-93 on Sunday, March 23, at Madison Square Garden.
“It’s like that SpongeBob meme when Squidward is looking out the window and he sees Spongebob and Patrick having fun,” Hart told reporters, as reported by New York Daily News, after the victory. “[Mikal] is Squidward.”
Hart grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds while no one from the Nets got a double-digit rebound, displaying the Knicks’ dominance over their rivals located across the bridge.
This marked the fifth consecutive win for the Knicks against the Nets.
Bridges scored 18 points, including a 62-foot shot at the halftime buzzer, keeping the Nets competitive for three quarters.
However, the Knicks managed to shut him down in the fourth quarter.
Bridges performed poorly in the fourth quarter, missing all three of his attempts in eight minutes.
The Knicks Are Enjoying Themselves
While Bridges is feeling sad across the Brooklyn bridge after yet another disappointing loss and facing elimination from the playoff tournament, the Knicks, led by his former college teammates, are having a great time.
Donte DiVincenzo led the Knicks’ surge in the fourth quarter, scoring 13 of his game-high 31 points to widen the lead.
DiVincenzo scored 10 of the Knicks’ first 12 points in the fourth quarter as they pulled away from an 80-80 tie. Hart contributed the other two points with a putback during the Knicks' 12-0 run.
With DiVincenzo heating up, there was no need for a Jalen Brunson standout performance. Nevertheless, Brunson, the most prominent among four Villanova teammates, still made an impact.
Brunson recorded the highest number of assists in the game with 17 points, four rebounds and one steal.
Miles McBride, a rising third-year guard for the Knicks, also scored his second 20-point game in the last three games. McBride added 26 points in 48 minutes while effectively defending Cam Thomas, who only managed 19 points on 14 shots. Isaiah Hartenstein contributed 17 points and 9 rebounds along with 4 steals and 2 blocks.
“Right now, we’re playing more unselfish basketball, and I find that enjoyable,” Hartenstein remarked to reporters after the game.
Knicks Emerge Victorious
Just 36 hours after a tough 113-110 loss to the reigning champions, the Denver Nuggets, the Knicks relied on their defense when their offense was struggling.
They limited the Nets to 16 points in the fourth quarter, preventing them from reaching 100 points, marking their 22nd game of the season where they held their opponents to under 100 points.
“I anticipated that this game would be challenging after our recent road trip,”
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters after the game. “We just needed to find a way to win, and we did.” The Knicks had just returned from a 3-1 West Coast trip and have now won four of their last five games, tying with the Orlando Magic for the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference.
With 12 games remaining, the Knicks (42-28) are only three games behind the second seed, which is currently held by the Milwaukee Bucks with a 45-25 record.
They are hoping to obtain
Mitchell Robinson back in their next four games, with their first three opponents being likely to be among the teams who did not qualify for the playoffs. Robinson is just waiting for the doctor’s approval to come back after he already started participating in the team’s practices this week.
Find out the reason why New York Knicks forward Josh Hart referred to his former Villanova teammate Mikal Bridges as 'Squidward' after Sunday’s victory.
