For three and a half quarters, Victor Wembanyama played the role of the Grinch to a T.
The 7-foot-3 wunderkind scared the Knicks and their fans, threatening to ruin a festive Christmas at the Garden.
One of the newest Knicks, Mikal Bridges, wouldn’t allow it.
The former Nets star made all the big sH๏τs late and the Knicks locked up Wembanyama when it counted, rallying from an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter for a thrilling 117-114 holiday victory.
“It’s a great win for us,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “They did a lot of things that I know they probably felt would win the game, and we still found a way to grit one out.”
Bridges has played at a high level for a while now after some early-season struggles, but this was different. This was brilliant. This was clutch. This was Bridges’ first true MSG moment.
He poured in a Knicks career-high 41 points on 17-for-25 shooting, and Josh Hart came up with two clutch offensive rebounds in the final seconds to ice the victory.
Wembanyama finished with 42 points, 18 rebounds, four ᴀssists and four blocks, but defensive ace OG Anunoby bottled him up down the stretch, holding him without a point over the final 7:44, as the Knicks won their fifth straight and 15th game in their past 19 to improve to 20-10.
They also have won three of their past four games on Christmas.
