Mikal Bridges' game-winner for Knicks came hours after he ignited hot topic debate

Mikal Bridges' first season with the New York Knicks has been a rollercoaster, full of ups and downs, twists and turns. He's had a few big performances, like when he dropped 41 points on Christmas, and other outings where he struggles to hit a shot. That wasn't the case on Wednesday night.

The Knicks were down by two, 113-111, with 3.1 seconds left to play in overtime against the Trail Blazers. Bridges inbounded the ball to Josh Hart, who handed it back to Mikal as he set a screen on Shaedon Sharpe, who was guarding Bridges. Donovan Clingan switched onto Bridges, but wasn't quick enough to keep up with the wing as he dashed to the top of the key. The rest is history.

Bridges scored a game-high 33 points on 13-of-21 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 from three. He recorded four rebounds, four assists, one block, and one steal in 41 minutes on a night full of minutes discussions.

Bridges nails game-winner for Knicks after talking about starters' minutes

Three of New York's starters played at least 41 minutes, as Hart played 42 and OG Anunoby a game-high 43. Karl-Anthony Towns played 39 and Miles McBride 38. It's simple math -- starters play more minutes during an overtime game.

Tom Thibodeau is notorious for playing his starters heavy minutes. Channing Frye recently went on a rant on NBA TV about Thibodeau relying on his starters too much, which, in his mind, is the reason the Knicks deal with injuries. New York is currently without Jalen Brunson, who sprained his ankle last week in an injury that had nothing to do with Thibodeau.

With the minutes debate being a hot conversation (again), Bridges was asked if Thibodeau gets too much criticism for relying on his starters. Bridges, who leads the league with 37.9 minutes per game, didn't answer like Brunson or Hart have in the past. Instead, he said he talked with Thibodeau about playing the bench more (subscription required).

“Yeah, no, he’s not really, he’s not arguing about it,” Bridges said. “Sometimes I think he just gets in his ways and he gets locked in and he just wants to keep the guy out there. Sometimes you have to tell him like, Landry (Shamet) for example or somebody, keep them out there, they’re playing well.”

Thibodeau was asked pregame about what Bridges said, to which the coach denied ever having a conversation about minutes. He noted that wings play more, while Brunson and KAT are 15th and 24th, respectively, in minutes played per game.

Bridges is the NBA's ironman. He's been in the NBA since 2018 and hasn't missed a game, playing 525 consecutive contests. You can say that it's worth listening if he's talking about minutes. After playing 41 on Wednesday, Bridges said he felt "great."

Most fans can agree that Bridges had a point in what he said to the media, although some will say he should've kept that conversation private. It sure seems like Thibodeau wanted to keep it that way.

Bridges can talk about minutes at shootaround before every game if he's going to drop 33 points. In all honesty, it's normal for players to challenge coaches, and vice versa. It is the NBA, after all.