In five games, the Knicks faced the Pistons with a 3-2 series in the first round. Detroit faces elimination Tuesday night. However, they maintained a 106-103 victory with the Knicks.
After the game, the Knicks spoke to the media forward with Mikal Bridges. Ask him how to slow down the speed with the pistons in the third quarter. The bridge has a simple response. He suggested layups for the Knicks. While this seems to be basic, it may be demand in New York in the second half of the year.
Will Tom Thibodeau take Mikal Bridges' layup advice to start the second half?
Kristian Winfield “What can you do to get stronger at halftime?”
Mikal Bridges “Idk Man…maybe do some layup line…makes everyone moves there…the same thing happens in Phoenix…I think that's it…as we say “working”…still not do it…maybe warm up…” pic.twitter.com/zr6xi4ww3l
– New York Basketball (@nba_newyork) April 30, 2025
For the Knicks and Detroit's Knicks, the start of the third quarter is a problem. The Pistons were a solid team on defense, which brought New York to the second half. In five games, the Knicks' best third quarter was with 26 points in Game 1. It was also their lowest-scoring quarter in that game, against the Pistons in Game 2 and 18 points in their third quarter.
New York scored just 14 points in the third quarter of Game 4, but still managed to win. In Game 5, the Knicks led by the end of the half. However, in the middle of the third quarter, they fell by as much as 9 points. Mikal Bridges spoke to the media after a 106-103 loss on Tuesday. They asked the Knicks what they could do in the second half to fix their slow start.
Bridges suggests addressing their problems in the third quarter. He mentioned similar issues when he was with the Phoenix Suns. They started slowly in the second half and used layups to warm in the third quarter. This is a fairly simple solution, but who knows if Tom Thibodeau will take the advice. In any case, the Knicks' lead has a 3-2 series with the Pistons. They hope to end the series in Game 6 on Thursday night.
