Yet it was a perfect distillation of why Bridges was happy to make the move from Brooklyn where he was the No. 1 option to the Knicks where he is just one of five talented starters. As he searched for his shot it was Karl-Anthony Towns who emerged for much of the night and a late push from Jalen Brunson to lead the Knicks to a 99-95 win over the Nets at Barclays Center.

Mikal Bridges didn’t get a tribute video in his return to Barclays Center on Tuesday, but he did get a “Welcome back” graphic that was displayed on the jumbotron when the Knicks‘ starters were introduced.

Mikal Bridges represents the present for the New York Knicks, who are competing in the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference and aspire to make a lengthy playoff run.