Mikal Bridges drills last-second three to give Knicks 114-113 OT win over Trail Blazers

The Knicks almost let one slide against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night, but a last-second Mikal Bridges three-pointer in overtime gave them an improbable 114-113 win.

The game featured 36 lead changes during regulation and when the horn sounded after 48 minutes it was tied for the 14th time on the night. In the extra period, the score was not tied once thanks to neither team shooting well as Portland went 3-for-14 from the field and New York 3-for-9. But just before the horn, the decisive 42nd lead change – the second-most for a game since the NBA began tracking play-by-play data in 1996 – gave the visitors a win to improve to 42-23 on the season.

Here are the takeaways…

-The game started out slow with neither offense able to settle in and quite a few turnovers from both sides. New York’s defense held up, though, limiting the Trail Blazers to 21 points on 35 percent shooting from the floor and 25 percent from three in the first quarter.

-A game after putting up 37 first-quarter points against the Sacramento Kings, the Knicks scored 26 points in the opening frame. Karl-Anthony Towns was involved early but was the first player subbed off, giving way to Mitchell Robinson whose presence around the rim disrupted Portland’s offense. However, Robinson found himself in early foul trouble after receiving his second with 0.6 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

-The game stayed close in the second quarter with the Trail Blazers pulling to within two points at the half. Still, Bridges started to see some shots fall and Miles McBride added a jolt with his tenacity and playmaking. McBride finished the night with 11 points and five assists, plus an impressive four steals and two blocks.

-In a game that had some intrigue regarding players’ minutes after comments made by Bridges and head coach Tom Thibodeau during the pregame news conference, New York’s four usual suspects off the bench played their regular role with Landry Shamet getting the most burn with 20 minutes.

But it was the Knicks’ starters that played the more crucial role in this one as Bridges, OG Anunoby and Towns all had more than 20 points. Bridges was great offensively with an efficient going 13-for-21 from the floor for a game-high 33 points. Anunoby added 23 points and seven rebounds while Towns had 21 points.

–Josh Hart had another great all-around game, too, as the do-it-all guard had 11 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists — one assist shy from a triple-double. But his crucial turnover late in overtime nearly cost them the game when he committed a traveling violation in-bounding the ball with 7.2 seconds left and the Knicks up one.

-The Knicks got killed on the boards, 52-38, with big-man Towns only able to secure seven rebounds. He was matched up with former UConn standout Donovan Clingan for most of the night as the youngster finished with six points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. Deni Avdija also reeled in 15 rebounds to go along with 27 points and five assists.

-The biggest thorn in New York’s side, though, was Scoot Henderson who had 30 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter. Henderson scored Portland’s final 10 points in regulation and went on a personal 5-0 run in the final 40 seconds of the fourth quarter that tied the game and sent the game to OT. Before that, it looked like the Knicks had the game wrapped up.

-New York had multiple chances to pull ahead for good in the third quarter, but the Trail Blazers fought back from an eight-point deficit to enter the fourth quarter tied.

-From there, it was a rock fight until the end, including overtime where Portland took a two-point lead with 3.1 seconds left in the game. Down to their last play, Bridges drilled the last-second three-pointer that gave the Knicks their second win on their five-game road trip.