During the Friday night NBA slate, the Brooklyn Nets won 124-123 against the Minnesota Timberwolves in overtime thanks to Mikal Bridges’ 34 points and Spencer Dinwiddie’s final stop. The Nets secured their fourth victory in five games by blocking Mike Conley’s 3-point attempt as time expired.
Bridges made four of eight 3-pointers and 13 of 24 overall shots to silence a rowdy Target Center crowd. In four of his last five games since he was acquired from Phoenix last month, Bridges has scored 30 points or more.
“I don’t think anybody knew that Mikal was was this amazing offensively, just being completely real,” Dinwiddie said. “It’s our job to make sure that he can get to his spots and get his shots and continue to shoot, stack up these thirties as much as he possibly can.”
The Kyrie Irving trade brought Dinwiddie to Dallas, where he had 29 points and 11 assists. Royce O’Neale came off the bench to add 12 points and 15 rebounds after also being traded from Phoenix. Cam Johnson finished with 15 points and eight rebounds.
“I think our biggest thing is just trying to win,” Bridges said. “If I score four or five, I’m not tripping. I just want to go out there and win.”
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Mikal Bridges, Spencer Dinwiddie, Brooklyn Nets & Minnesota Timberwolves Updates
Minnesota big man Rudy Gobert had 26 points in the loss, his most in a Wolves uniform since being acquired in the offseason. A couple of key shots were missed down the stretch by Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, who finished with 32 points.
First half shooting for the Wolves was scorching hot, near the 60 percent mark. To cause more disruption, Brooklyn switched more often on pick-and-rolls. Just nine of 30 three-point attempts were made by Minnesota from the field.
“We really wanted to spread the floor, and if they wanted to post Rudy up for the remainder of the game, we would find a solution for that,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said. “But we wanted space for our guys to score.”
As regulation expired, Minnesota’s Naz Reid hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to send it to overtime. There has been a four-game losing streak at home for the Timberwolves. From Mike Conley’s perspective, who finished with 11 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and two steals, they had a chance to win but had some key shortcomings.
“Everybody had a moment,” Conley said “We really felt like we played hard enough to win. We just had a couple plays where we had lapses.”
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Mikal Bridges, Spencer Dinwiddie, Brooklyn Nets & Minnesota Timberwolves Updates
A game ahead of Miami, which is currently sitting in the first play-in spot, Brooklyn entered the night in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Having entered Friday tied with Golden State and Dallas for sixth in the West, Minnesota faces a similar battle to avoid the first play-in spot.
A severely strained calf has kept Karl-Anthony Towns from playing for 47 straight games. As part of the team’s player development program, he took part in some on-court drills this week. Before Towns is cleared to practice with his teammates, coach Chris Finch expects he will need several more days of such activity.
“He can feel like he’s got the bit in his teeth right now. He probably wants to do a little bit more than he’s actually allowed. That’s good,” Finch said.
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Mikal Bridges, Spencer Dinwiddie, Brooklyn Nets & Minnesota Timberwolves Updates
A sore left knee and back have kept Ben Simmons out of nine games. The third period of the game ended with Johnson leaving for treatment briefly after he took a hit to the face.
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