DETROIT — Mikal Bridges had just lost an outdoor summer league game. He was in high school at the time, a rising junior. 

The defeat left him upset and not eager to discuss with his mother the pain in his foot area. 

“She was like, ‘You’re all right?’ ” Bridges recalled. “And I’m like, ‘I’m fine.’ ”

About a month later, Kevin Bridges, the professional basketball player, woke up and realized he couldn’t walk. It was then that a doctor uncovered the cause – he had been playing with a fractured heel. This was just one of the many injuries the 28-year-old athlete has endured, hidden, or simply powered through as he evolved into the NBA’s beloved iron man.

“It’s kind of just a mentality. I kind of got that from growing up. I always wanted to play, being upset, hiding injuries from my mom and always playing through them. And then getting to college, where Coach [Jay] Wright is big on just playing through it,” Bridges said before scoring 17 points in 33 minutes in the Knicks’ 115-106 loss to the Pistons on Thursday night. “Even my high school coach. You roll an ankle, my coach called it a stinger and tells you just tie your shoes up even tighter. 

“So throughout my phases, I always had my personal self and then my coaches who always kind of just pushed me even more. So it was just a mentality thing at that point.”

Bridges played in his 554th straight regular-season game Thursday, a mark that would seem unfathomable in today’s era of load management. It was also a relevant statistic in Detroit because two of his fellow starters — Josh Hart and OG Anunoby — rested on the first game of a back-to-back.

That assured no Knick, aside from Bridges, will hit 79 games this season. Other Knicks likely will sit out Friday’s home game versus Cleveland as they gear up for the playoffs. 

Not Bridges. He was penciled in for 82 and, barring the never-before-seen — a Bridges DNP — he’ll hit that number again in the finale Sunday. 

Will he pop champagne for another 82 games played? 

“Nah, just kind of keep to prayer and just thank God every single day,” he said. 

That strategy is working. Bridges also has a high pain threshold and possibly unique healing powers. Earlier this season, Bridges recalled two injuries that nearly ended his streak — hand pain while with the Nets that felt like he broke his wrist and a hyperextended knee when he played with the Suns. 

“I was real nervous [for that one],” Bridges said. 

Bridges’ streak goes back to Villanova, where he played 116 straight games over three years while winning two national titles. He could’ve claimed a longer stretch if not for his high school coach suggesting Bridges sit a meaningless contest before the Pennsylvania state tournament. 

“I think if we would’ve won that game, we would’ve had a worse seeding or whatever for the states,” Bridges recalled. “My coach knew it. And I was kind of sick, but I was gonna play through it and he was just like, ‘It’s a consolation game. Just sit out.’

“I was like, ‘All right.’ So I just stayed home and we lost.”

That was the last time Bridges stayed home. Earlier this season, he cracked the all-time top 10 for most consecutive games played — surpassing Derek Fisher. 

Next up is John Stockton. 

Bridges, who has played over 100 more minutes than anybody else in the league this season, can clearly do it through pain, if necessary, like when he fractured his heel during summer. 

Hiding that from his mom wasn’t so easy. 

“She knew,” Bridges said. “She’s smart, so she’s like, ‘I knew something was up.’ ”