Mikal Bridges bounced back from a tough road trip to score 31 points in a home win over New Orleans on Sunday night.

“He played so confidently and fluidly,” Jalen Brunson said of Bridges. “I love watching it.”

In the four games prior to Sunday, Bridges shot just 33 percent from the floor (60 FGAs). He had missed 21 of 29 three-pointers. On Friday, Bridges was on the bench in the final minutes of New York’s one-point win at Charlotte.

When they sent five first-round picks to Brooklyn to acquire Bridges six months ago, the Knicks certainly didn’t expect the 28-year-old to be on the bench in the closing minutes of a close game.

But that’s exactly where Bridges found himself on Friday.

In some ways, it was the culmination of five weeks of uneven play from Bridges.

He hasn’t performed at his level on defense, as @_AnalyKnicks shows in this detailed analysis. He struggled to hit threes from beyond the baseline.

The uneven play led to external criticism of both Bridges and the Knicks. But support for Bridges in the locker room never waned.

Josh Hart said several times that he wasn’t worried about Bridges. Jalen Brunson repeated these thoughts.

Bridges says he didn’t push. Why?

“Just because I liked the shots I took. And then a new team. (That’s) pretty much everything,” he said Sunday. “I’ve never played a big with an offensive talent like KAT. I’ve never had much to do with a banger. We just had to get used to it and it’s just going to take time.”

The Knicks found Bridges early on Sunday — and he delivered. The former Net hit five of his seven shots in the first quarter as New York built a 33-10 lead against a depleted Pelicans team. He finished the night with seven three-pointers and 12 shots on 19 shot attempts.

“That’s our guy. We trust him. We trust him to make the shots. Middle class, turnarounds. We want him to be aggressive. This is the Mikal we know,” Hart said after the game. “And in the season there will be peaks and valleys, highs and lows; Therefore, don’t panic. Think about averages. Everything balances out. So if you have a bad 10 game spell or a 15 game spell, get a really good 15 game spell. That’s why you never worry about it during the season.”

Hart has defended Bridges several times in recent weeks without being asked. He called criticism of Bridges’ shooting quality “stupid” and chided Bridges’ critics for wanting to be “perfect.”

Bridges seems to appreciate the support.

“Josh is my guy. I think he knows me,” Bridges said Sunday. “My whole life is surrounded by basketball. Everything I do – at home, on days off – is just to be ready for our games. So I don’t really stumble.”

FOR THE CUP

The Knicks face the Orlando Magic in a big NBA Cup showdown on Tuesday night.

If the Knicks beat the Magic, they will reach the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup.

Brunson said late Sunday that he likes the new midseason tournament because it gives players near the bottom of the roster a chance to win big money. The winning team’s players earn $500,000.

“You have guys on the team that maybe have a one-year deal or a two-way deal or whatever. And you can go out there and try to win for them, and that means a lot,” Brunson said. “So I don’t think, ‘What benefits does this give me?’ I’m thinking about how this will benefit the team.'”