Mikal Bridges has been one of the players that the Brooklyn Nets have been relying on to have big games on a nightly basis. While his scoring and three-point shooting numbers are down now compared to what he did for the Nets last season, Bridges is still the main focal point of opposing defenses.
In Thursday’s 122-115 loss to the Miami Heat, Bridges scored 23 points, but those points came on 6-of-15 shooting from the field and 2-of-6 from deep. However, despite how much attention the Nets were showing towards Bridges, he went 9-of-10 from the free-throw line and put up seven rebounds and five assists as well.
With that being said, the Nets as a team did not have one of their better performances this season, especially in the second quarter. With 4:13 left in the period, Brooklyn was 52-46. However, from that point on, the Heat went on a 14-0 run to end the quarter and Jimmy Butler was responsible for seven of those 14 points.
Brooklyn went 0-for-7 from the field during that crushing Miami run and the Nets turned the ball over three times in that stretch. All of those missed shots and miscues allowed the Heat to gain momentum that seemed to propel them through the entire second half.
Bridges believes that the second quarter is where Brooklyn essentially the game because of the huge momentum shift:
“They (the Heat) ended that second quarter really well. Brought momentum. I know they were in the locker room probably just (like) last time they were up and we came back and won. So, I know they was really detailed in coming out of the half to not let that happen again. But, in the second quarter like that, it’s got to be better and that’s kind of where (it) sparked.”
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