The Magic arrived in Brooklyn as the hottest team in the NBA, but Mikal Bridges and the Nets now have pinned the past two losses suffered by Orlando to bookend what had been a nine-game winning streak.
Bridges was on fire early to help the Nets to a 25-point lead in the first half, pouring in 26 of his 42 points in the opening quarter — and 34 in the first half — of a runaway 129-101 victory Saturday night at Barclays Center.
Bridges, who typically was showered with chants of “Brooklyn Bridges” by the home crowd throughout, fell three points shy of his career-high of 45, most recently accomplished in an overtime loss in Atlanta on Nov. 22.
“I really don’t care about [the career-high], I just wanted to win this game,” Bridges said afterward. “Me scoring like that, I just didn’t want to lose that game.”
Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said he expected Bridges to come out strong after seeing the player’s reaction following Thursday’s giveaway loss to the Hornets, which cost the Nets (10-9) a chance at a perfect 5-0 home stand.
“I knew [Mikal] would be ready to play. He was as frustrated and disappointed as I was after the Charlotte game,” Vaughn said.
Spencer Dinwiddie contributed 22 points, and Cam Thomas finished with 20 for the Nets, who played without rotation regulars Lonnie Walker IV (hamstring) and Dorian Finney-Smith (foot/knee).
Backup point guard Dennis Smith Jr. also had a highly effective all-around game with 10 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in 21 minutes off the bench for the Nets (10-9) after sitting out the previous six games with a strained lower back.
We’re glad to have him back,” Vaughn said of Smith, who referred to himself as “a savage” in his on-court, walk-off interview with YES.
“You don’t miss six and come back like that,” Smith explained. “I just wanted to make an impact.”
Franz Wagner and Cole Anthony scored 20 points apiece and Paulo Banchero had 19 for the Magic (14-6), who hadn’t lost since the Nets downed them by 20, also in Brooklyn, on Nov. 14.
Bridges connected to open the scoring with a corner 3, and he couldn’t be slowed down in the first two quarters, netting half of the Nets’ points for an early 20-11 lead.
Smith entered the game with just over four minutes remaining in the first, and he promptly dropped in a putback. Dinwiddie also scored five straight points as part of a 13-2 run, but mostly it was a sizzling Bridges who pushed the Nets’ lead to 21, 43-22, entering the second.
Bridges buried three triples in the first nine minutes and he finished the quarter with a whopping 26 points on 8-of-11 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line to easily surpass his previous career high for any quarter during his NBA career. He put up 19 in a quarter twice last season with the Nets following his arrival from Phoenix in the Kevin Durant trade.
Bridges sat down for the first six minutes of the second quarter, but the Nets still led by 20 after Bridges fed Cam Johnson (14 points) for a left-corner triple with 4:48 remaining. Bridges added eight more points before halftime to boost his total to 34 — including 11 free throws — as the Nets cruised into intermission with a 73-51 advantage. It marked the highest scoring half by an NBA player this season.
Bridges missed all three of his field-goal attempts and added just one point to his total in the third, as the Nets were outscored 34-25 in the period to slash what had been a 25-point cushion to 98-85 entering the final 12 minutes.
But Bridges, who finished 15-of-18 from the line (both career-highs), scored seven straight points for the Nets midway through the fourth to complete his fifth career 40-point game as Brooklyn pulled away.
“So were we, but the coaches, they were [ticked] off about that Charlotte game, and let it be known,” Bridges added. “We were fired up coming in knowing that last game was unacceptable. They had us all locked in.
“We let our foot off the gas and definitely can’t lose games like that. We can’t just give away wins like that. … We need every win possible.”
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