The New York Knicks aim to continue what is shaping up as a December to remember when they face the Orlando Magic to open a three-game road trip on Friday night.
The red-hot Knicks have won 15 of their last 19 games overall, including nine of 11 this month.
The Knicks have already beaten the Magic twice this month, with Karl-Anthony Towns collecting 23 points and 15 rebounds in a 121-106 triumph on Dec. 3 in New York, and then 22 and 22, respectively, in a 100-91 win on Dec. 15 in Orlando.
Mikal Bridges scored a season-high 41 points in the Knicks’ 117-114 victory over the visiting San Antonio Spurs on Christmas Day. He sank a sizzling 17 of 25 shots from the floor and 6 of 9 from 3-point range.
“I think we just look at each other and see if we’re getting better or not. I think that’s the biggest thing,” Bridges said, per the New York Post. “I think we took a jump this month.
“Every day we just keep trying to get better. We want to win. That’s the main goal. But sometimes just getting better is what we’re looking for.”
Bridges is averaging 22.7 points and shooting 57.7 percent from the floor and 46.9 percent from 3-point range in 11 games this month. He was averaging just 15.5 points per game prior to the start of December.
“They say slow and steady wins the race, and that’s what he’s been,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said of Bridges.
“If you look at his whole career, he just keeps getting better and better and better. What is he? It’s hard to put him in a box because he does everything. He can run the floor in transition. He moves extremely well without the ball. He knows how to create advantages. You can put him in pick-and-roll. He’s smart. There’s so many intangibles that he brings to the team. It’s creating big advantages for us.”
While New York is ascending, Orlando has taken a turn in the other direction. The Magic saw an early 17-point lead go by the boards on Thursday night en route to their fourth loss in the last six games.
Jalen Suggs, who scored a team-high 29 points, saw his turnaround jumper at the buzzer rim out as Orlando dropped an 89-88 decision to the visiting Miami Heat.
Suggs made just 2 of 11 attempts from 3-point range and Orlando wasn’t much better as a team, going 5-for-29 from beyond the arc.
Rookie Tristan da Silva has scored 18 points in back-to-back games as he continues to contribute with small forward Franz Wagner sidelined by an oblique injury.
“He’s had to step up with some bodies going down with different roles and different possessions,” Suggs said of da Silva earlier this week. “He is taking everything head held high, with the utmost confidence and staying even-keeled throughout mistakes, good games and bad games. He has never wavered. He’s a rookie but he’s still 23.”