For the second straight game, Mikal Bridges sat on the bench for most of the fourth quarter.

This time, however, the fact that he wasn’t on the ground wasn’t an indication of his poor play.

Instead, Bridges left the court three minutes into the final period after scoring a season-high 31 points to help the Knicks to a 118-85 victory over the injury-depleted New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

The loss was the eighth in a row for the Pelicans, who set the ugly tone of the game with just 28 points in the first half. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, 28 points was the lowest total by a Knicks opponent in a first half since Golden State scored just 25 points in a game on November 20, 2001.

Overall, Bridges shot 12-for-19 and 7-for-12 on three-point shots. “It was just my teammates and coaches who picked me up and told me to stay confident,” Bridges said when asked on the court what helped him have a great night of scoring. “My teammates just found me.”

It was the Pelicans’ eighth consecutive loss. The Knicks (12-8) have won seven of their last nine games.

Karl-Anthony Towns grabbed 19 rebounds and scored 14 points. Jalen Brunson scored 16 points and provided nine assists.

New Orleans played without Jose Alvarado, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Jordan Hawkins and Herb Jones – five of its top eight players. However, the Knicks showed on their recent road trip that they are capable of playing poorly against teams that are missing their top players.

On Wednesday, Dallas defeated the Knicks 129-114 despite Luka Doncic missing his fifth straight game with a wrist injury. Then on Friday, the Knicks needed 31 points from Jalen Brunson, including his two free throws with eight seconds left, to get past a Charlotte team that was playing without three of its starters, including LaMelo Ball.

Bridges was benched in favor of Deuce McBride for most of the fourth quarter. Bridges entered Sunday’s game averaging 15.5 points per game, more than four points fewer than last season. He also shot a career-low 30.6% from distance.

Expectations were high for Bridges after the Knicks traded four unprotected first-round picks and one protected pick to the Nets for the shooting guard who played alongside Brunson and Josh Hart at Villanova. Many predicted that the Knicks, which included Karl-Anthony Towns, would compete with Boston for the best record in the East.

Bridges’ shooting issues are increasingly being blamed for the Knicks’ less-than-dominant start this season. After he didn’t play during the crucial time in Charlotte, several of Bridges’ teammates spoke up for their shooting guard, saying it was only natural for him to take some time to adjust to a new role that he was no longer the top scoring option like he had been with the Nets.

I’m not worried about him. I think the media and people are killing him,” Hart said. “He’s in a new situation. He’s in a situation where he’s played (19) games in a different role than he has in the last four years. So it’s our job to make it work.”

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau echoed those sentiments in his pregame press conference on Sunday.

“The thing is, the game tells you what to do,” Thibodeau said when asked before the game if he thought a focus was needed to get Bridges on offense. “That’s it. If you’re open, shoot it.

“I think when you move without the ball, he was always a great cutter, he was always good in transition. And then the corners, which he has shot extremely well throughout his career. So just take good shots. It will come. He’s still averaging nearly 16 points per game. Just help the team win. That’s the bottom line.”

Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in Newsday’s sports department. She has been covering sports in New York for more than 20 years.