Knicks’ Bridges ups video games performed streak with 23-second stint

Mikal Bridges’ consecutive video games performed streak reached 638 in Sunday’s season finale in opposition to the Charlotte Hornets, after the New York Knicks wing performed all of 23 seconds earlier than leaving the eventual 110-96 loss.

Bridges was the one Knicks starter to play within the recreation with the Eastern Conference’s third seed secured this previous week. Coach Mike Brown stated earlier than the sport he would permit the guard to play lengthy sufficient solely to increase the streak, and reserve Jordan Clarkson was already strolling to the scorer’s desk to interchange him even earlier than the opening soar ball.

Bridges dedicated a foul to cease play with the Knicks on protection in the course of the first possession of the sport.

Bridges stated he does not go right into a season feeling that he has to play 82 video games, however simply does not wish to miss any.

“I think I just try to pray for good health and do whatever it takes to be healthy and just try to be out there,” he stated.

Bridges’ streak is the eighth longest in NBA historical past, almost 50 video games behind former Knick Harry Gallatin. The present document holder is A.C. Green, whose streak of 1,192 video games stretched throughout 15 seasons.

“It’s crazy because load management is a real term,” Brown stated earlier than the sport. “And that’s something that’s thought of by everybody, not just the medical performance group but by coaches, by individual players, by agents, by family members, and people get pushed to take time off for whatever reason. And so for a guy like that to be at the number he’s at in consecutive games played speaks volumes.”

The NBA Cup ultimate that the Knicks gained does not rely within the statistics, in any other case Bridges would have been credited with taking part in 83 video games in an 82-game season for the second time in 4 years. He performed 56 video games with Phoenix in 2022-23 earlier than he was dealt to Brooklyn within the commerce for Kevin Durant, then appeared in all the Nets’ ultimate 27 video games.

He prolonged the streak on the finish of that season by taking part in 4 seconds within the regular-season finale, and performed six seconds within the ultimate recreation of the 2024-25 season.

There had been 18 gamers who went into the ultimate day of the common season having performed each recreation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.