NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets guard Mikal Bridges did not have much to say after a Game 3 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in which the Nets led by as many as eight points in the third quarter. What made Thursday’s loss so devastating for a young Brooklyn team was that 76ers superstar Joel Embiid was hobbled since the first quarter and teammate James Harden was ejected in the third quarter for an elbow to Nets forward Royce O’Neale’s midsection/groin area.
“It hurts,” Bridges said after scoring 26 points in Thursday’s 102-97 loss to Philadelphia. After starting the third quarter on a 14-2 run to get back into the game after being down by nine points at halftime, Brooklyn had trouble separating from the 76ers despite Embiid being compromised. “I mean, you just wanna win,” Bridges continued. “And we had an opportunity, but we just couldn’t finish the game. But yeah, it hurts. Losing just in general hurts.”
The Nets had multiple chances to increase their leads into the double-digits to possibly make Philadelphia rethink playing Embiid on his injured leg. However, whenever it was time for someone to make the shot to grow the lead, the shots fell short. And, with that, Brooklyn is now down 3-0 in the best-of-seven series and will be fighting to keep their season alive in Game 4 on Saturday.
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