During the Wednesday night NBA slate, Mikal Bridges scored 45 points, including 15 straight for the Brooklyn Nets, breaking open a game that had been close for all but the final six minutes of regulation. Bridges’ performance proved integral to the Nets achieving the 116-105 win over the Miami Heat.
“I just had it going and my teammates found me every time,” Bridges said.
Bridges showed off some real versatility on drives, perimeter shot creation, and two-point jumpers after the Nets were up just 90-89. The scoring burst form Bridges extended their advantage to nine, and fellow former Phoenix Sun Cam Johnson converted from beyond the arc to put the Nets up108-96.
Bridges scored 17 points in the final quarter to strongly outperform his previous single-game career-high of 34 points. He was 17 of 24 from the field, 4 of 6 on 3-pointers, and 7 of 7 at the line, and he also hauled in eight rebounds and dished out five assists.
“I think overall just his spirit and energy and juice, even at our walkthrough today, like he had the mindset it seemed like he wasn’t going to let us lose,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said.
NBA SCORES & NEWS: Mikal Bridges, Brooklyn Nets & Miami Heat Updates
In addition to being a defensive player of the year runner-up, Bridges’ offensive game is improving. The Suns traded him for Durant last week, and Brooklyn Bridges understood why, despite averaging 25 points since and earning the nickname.
“You traded a future Hall of Famer that averaged damn near 30 for his career, so I’m just trying to continue to get better and get to a point where I can score a little more,” Bridges said.
Cam Thomas dropped 19 points, and Johnson recorded 18 for the Nets.
Bam Adebayo had 24 points, 13 rebounds and six assists for the Heat. Max Strus scored 18 points.While Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry and Victor Oladipo are all out with injuries, Miami fell behind New York into seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
“We’ve got 23 to go to get to where we need to get to,” Heat star Jimmy Butler said. “It’s all about being healthy, which is what going into this break is going to do for us, come out swinging for the fences in the right way.”
NBA SCORES & NEWS: Mikal Bridges, Brooklyn Nets & Miami Heat Updates
After three quarters in which neither team led by more than six points, Bridges converted a jumper with 0.2 seconds left to give the Nets an 83-80 lead.
Duncan Robinson scored six points in his first game since undergoing finger ligament surgery on Jan. 4.
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