NEW YORK — If Mikal Bridges didn’t have a cross-country move to deal with immediately after Wednesday’s game, he couldn’t have started his All-Star break any better.
One of the key returns in the Kevin Durant trade, Bridges scored a career-high 45 points, 17 of which came in the fourth quarter, to lead the Nets over the Heat 116-105. He added eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks and celebrated by handing his mother, Tyneeha Rivers, his jersey before walking off the floor.
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“He had the mindset. It seemed like he wasn’t going to let us lose, and at halftime, he had it going early and then just really had some good looks to go down,” Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn said. “The 3s were able to go down for him. I think overall it was just attitude and the mindset of not letting us go away without a win tonight.”
CAREER HIGH 43 POINTS FOR MIKAL 🚨 pic.twitter.com/PUaB2dXugL
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) February 16, 2023
Should the Nets expect Bridges to flirt with 40 points as frequently as Durant did? No. But for a team that seemed to be searching for solutions as early as Monday, the Nets appear to have found a formula to win. Six players had three or more assists. The Nets shot 39 3s, one off Vaughn’s target number, and they hit 43 percent of them. And Cam Thomas stayed within himself, scoring 19 points off the bench on 6-for-11 shooting while chipping in four assists. Vaughn called Thomas’ performance “an ideal picture” of his role.
Heating up ♨️ pic.twitter.com/k6V1VdaaOS
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) February 16, 2023
Bridges’ performance likely won’t be a regular occurrence, but the Nets hoped his offensive game would continue to grow now that he’s no longer deferring to Devin Booker and Chris Paul in Phoenix, and Wednesday’s game was a sign of just that. He shot 17-for-24 from the field and 4-for-6 from 3. Going into the fourth quarter, the score had been tied 11 times with 10 lead changes, and the Nets led by three. Bridges’ 17 fourth-quarter points made the game a non-factor in the final minutes as the Nets expanded their advantage to double digits.
When Brooklyn traded Durant and Kyrie Irving, one of the biggest questions was who would take the shots in crunchtime given the absence of two of the game’s greatest closers. Spencer Dinwiddie remains a firm candidate, but Bridges has made a strong case for himself.
TOUCHDOWN @BenSimmons25 ➡️ @mikal_bridges pic.twitter.com/Jbfvi7HcDs
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) February 16, 2023
“I mean, never scored 40 in my life, so it’s a first,” Bridges said. “But like I said, just being aggressive. Just doing whatever it takes to win. That’s really what it comes down to, like I said, just winning the game. Even if I score 40 or I score five. If I was to score five and I was aggressive and we won, I would feel good anyway.”
The ball movement, shooting and physicality are all traits to like. Nic Claxton’s biggest observation Wednesday was that the Nets’ pace, which Vaughn said will be another key, was mediocre.
“I think we can play even faster,” Claxton said. “Just a lot of miscellaneous actions that will be tough for teams to guard. And I think you’ll see different guys stepping up every single night. It might not be the same dose of the same player.”
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That was the case against the Heat, as Claxton and Dinwiddie struggled. Claxton has been less of a factor offensively since the Durant trade, which Vaughn said is because of the workload he’s had to take on this season. Claxton was injured for parts of his first three seasons and got buried on the depth chart, but he has been healthy all season. His 54 games through Wednesday are already a career high, and he came into the game having logged 1,567 minutes. For context, he played just one more minute in the past two seasons combined. Claxton said fatigue hasn’t been a factor and his recent play has been more just trying to figure out how he fits among the new personnel. The truth is likely a little of both.
Dinwiddie had just nine points on four shots, but his five assists helped keep the offense flowing. After the Knicks loss, Vaughn talked about the pressure on Dinwiddie to score and be a playmaker. Winning a game he struggled in against a playoff team wasn’t lost on him.
“The coaches, before we walked in, we talked about how, really, Nic and Spencer didn’t have their best nights,” Vaughn said. “We’ve seen them play better, and for this group to still be able to create shots for each other, cover for each other on the defensive end of the floor and play collectively as a group, it really is a sign of who we need to be.”
Vaughn said he plans to spend the All-Star break working on the terminology to help the group adjust better. Time will be the best barometer, as the Nets haven’t been able to show their potential on either side of the floor yet. In their past three games, they rank 25th in defensive rating and 14th in offensive rating despite trading stars known for their scoring for two-way players. Those numbers should improve, especially on defense, as the group gets more games under its belt.
Maybe the biggest takeaway is Bridges’ mindset. After having a career night on offense, Bridges was more interested in talking about his defense. Granted, it beats talking about the packing job that awaits him in Phoenix as he looks to finish his move to Brooklyn.
“Defense always comes first to me,” Bridges said. “I could play 40 (minutes), and if I give up every bucket, I’d be pissed off. Still kinda mad I gave up a couple buckets. Lacked a little bit. But it’s always defense first.”
(Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
