Mikal Bridges again watched a comeback victory from the bench. 

For the second time in three games, the starting shooting guard was off the court for the vast majority of the second half and finished with just six points in 16 minutes. 

Head coach Mike Brown said Bridges should focus on the positives of his performance — specifically that he ran well in the 103-90 victory. 

“He’s just got to keep playing. Everybody goes through those ups and downs throughout the season,” Brown said. “And obviously, it’s the beginning of the season, so he has to find his way. With everybody, when you’re in a funk, you got to find one or two things to hold your hat on, and Mikal is one of the best runners in the game, in both directions, offensively and defensively. So he has to hold his hat on that as well as his cutting and trying to do that and other little things: rebounding, driving and touching the paint and spraying it. And his shot will come eventually.” 

Bridges was a focal point of the offense early and took his first free throws of the season. But his shot was still misfiring. He played the first three minutes of the third quarter and was benched for the remainder of the second half, with Landry Shamet and Jordan Clarkson eating up most of the minutes. 

It was a similar story in Friday’s victory over the Bulls, when Bridges logged just 13 minutes. He’s averaging a little over six points for the season. 

Tyler Kolek was back to third-stringer. Until he wasn’t. 

After missing four games with a sprained ankle, Jose Alvarado was activated Monday and took his previous position as Jalen Brunson’s first backup. 

But with New York’s offense stuck in the mud, Brown went to Kolek to start the fourth quarter, and it helped push the home team to victory. 

Before the game, Brown said it’s personal policy to not punish a player for getting hurt. 

“I try not to take a guy out [of his rotation spot] due to injury and the reality is Jose got hurt,” Brown said. 

Monday, Alvarado was scoreless in eight minutes with zero assists. Kolek had two points and an assist in five minutes.