Heroes, zeros from Knicks’ Game 3 loss to Hawks: Mikal Bridges benched after yet another disappearing act

Heroes and zeros from the Knicks’ 109-108 Game 3 loss to the Hawks on Thursday night in Atlanta:  

Hero

CJ McCollum was limited to seven points in the second half, but the final two mattered most — hitting the game-winning jumper for Atlanta.

As the Hawks built the core of their lead across the first 24 minutes, he collected 16 points. And there weren’t any “F–k you, CJ” chants this time, either.

Zero

So much for elevating his game for the postseason again.

Mikal Bridges was benched for the final 9:48 of the third quarter after struggling defensively and going scoreless offensively, and even after returning for part of the fourth, he spent the final 9:25 on the bench.

Unsung hero

After managing just 14 points and only nine shots in Game 2, OG Anunoby poured in 19 points in the second half to finish with a team-high 29.

It didn’t matter in the end, but this is the blueprint for Anunoby.

Key stat

2: The combined points from Bridges and Josh Hart — two of the Knicks starters. Hart only scored on a dunk with 7:35 remaining.