Bridges’ ironman run

Mikal Bridges opened the Knicks’ regular-season finale, played 23 seconds against Charlotte, and pushed his consecutive-games streak to 638. (nba.com) The game was on Sunday, April 12, in New York, with the Knicks already locked into the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. Bridges was the only Knicks starter to appear in the 110-96 loss to the Hornets. (espn.com) Bridges committed a foul on the opening defensive possession and checked out at the first stoppage. ESPN and the Associated Press reported that Jordan Clarkson was ready to sub in immediately. (espn.com) The number matters because 638 is the longest active consecutive-games streak in the National Basketball Association. It also moved Bridges past Andre Miller for the eighth-longest streak in league history. (nba.com) Bridges has never missed a regular-season game since making his National Basketball Association debut on October 17, 2018. Basketball-Reference lists him at 638 games played through the end of the 2025-26 regular season. (basketball-reference.com) This was the second straight Knicks finale in which Bridges made a cameo to keep the streak alive. He played six seconds in the last game of the 2024-25 regular season, when the Knicks were also protecting playoff position. (sports.yahoo.com) Bridges said Sunday that he does not enter seasons aiming for 82 games, but he does not like missing them. “It’s just who I am,” he said after the game. (nypost.com) The Knicks finished 53-29 and drew the No. 6 seed Atlanta in the first round, so Sunday’s brief shift closed the regular season and kept Bridges’ run intact heading into the playoffs. (espn.com)