These past few games, we’re starting to see the very best of Mikal Bridges again, which has been a reminder that there was a reason the Knicks targeted Bridges in the first place.

Mikal Bridges proved to be a Net gain for the New York Knicks on Friday night. Bridges has struggled to find his Manhattan footing since donning a Knicks jersey

Bridges had the final say by blocking Dennis Schroder’s attempted game-tying layup as time expired. He was mobbed by the Knicks (6-6) while his old team walked away. For Brunson, it was another defining moment in his Knicks tenure to save his team from a near collapse.

Josh Hart was traded for one first-round pick. Mikal Bridges, the spotlighted player Friday for the interborough rivalry game, cost the Knicks five.

Mikal Bridges had arguably the best game of his Knicks tenure so far on Friday against the Nets, capped by his game-saving block.

Ashley Howard still remembers when Mikal Bridges used to hide in the bathroom. It’s how Bridges disrupted game days during his redshirt season at Villanova in 2014-15, when he and the assistant coach had the court to themselves about an hour before the rest of the team arrived.

Karl-Anthony Towns' poor defense has been heavily scrutinized, but Mikal Bridges has been just as big of a problem on that end of the floor.