The New York Knicks have a chance to go up 3-0 in the NBA Finals on Monday night out on their home court. Generally speaking, it is widely accepted that Game 3 of any playoff series is one of the most important from a tone-setting standpoint.
As history suggests, heading into the contest up 2-0 in the title round and subsequently winning has essentially served as a guaranteed series-clincher, as teams who have done so have never lost (159-0).
Now, on the flip side, while letting Game 3 slip away might not be viewed as a death sentence by any stretch of the word, it does provide the opportunity for the trailing club to come across newfound hope and motivation that, in turn, could bring them back from the brink of death.
Just ask Mikal Bridges, who, unfortunately, has seen the ugly side of failing to go up 3-0 on the championship stage.
Mikal Bridges knows exactly what can happen if Knicks lose Game 3
Back during his tenure with the Suns, Phoenix found itself going up 2-0 against the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2021 Finals.
After pulling out a string of commanding wins in the first two games, Milwaukee went absolutely nuclear in Game 3, blowing out Phoenix by 20 points.
Though at the time this was seen merely as one win for the Bucks, it ultimately seemed to give Giannis Antetokounmpo and company enough juice to take away the Suns' early-round momentum.
In the end, the outcome of Game 3 triggered a snowball effect, as the Bucks went on to win four straight and pulled out a once improbable championship.
This time around, Bridges finds himself on a completely different team with the Knicks. Quite frankly, he also looks like a completely different player.
Back then, the forward was simply a young, up-and-coming three-and-D role player serving in a background role on a rather inexperienced, non-battle-tested Suns squad.
Five seasons later, Bridges is having a massive impact during New York's incredibly successful playoff run, averaging 14.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.2 steals on 58.5 percent shooting from the floor while sporting the fifth-best plus-minus of plus-11.3 on this historically dominant Knicks team.
Regardless of these stark contrasts between this Knicks team and the Suns team that squandered a 2-0 series lead, however, Game 3 still needs to be seen as a must-win affair for New York.
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