NEW YORK — It looks different when Mikal Bridges has it going.
After a particularly poor shooting performance in Monday’s loss to the Knicks, Bridges responded by torching the Miami Heat in Brooklyn’s 116-105 win on Wednesday.
He has become the new fan favorite in the starting lineup at Barclays Center, drawing “Brooklyn Bridges” chants that have grown louder each game he’s played in his new home.
Bridges showcased every quality head coach Jacque Vaughn described ahead of tipoff against the Knicks. He scored 45 points to go with eight rebounds and five assists and took control of the game down the stretch in the fourth quarter.
Bridges scored 17 of his 45 points in the fourth.
”Just being aggressive. My teammates found me. They trusted me,” he said postgame. “My coaches trusted me. It wouldn’t be possible without them.”
His explosive scoring night is a welcome sight for a Nets team whose primary concern entering the All-Star break is generating offense — either as a byproduct of moving the basketball or in isolation situations.
If Bridges plays like this every night, the Nets’ rapid rebuild might turn quicker than expected.
The Nets are no longer able to lean heavily on one-on-one scorers after trading both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving out West, but at times on Wednesday, they were able to lean on Bridges.
He worked in the mid-range, showcasing his stop-and-pop from the elbow all night. He was efficient from downtown, converting on four of his six attempts from deep. He created for his teammates, crashed the glass and took turns defending Miami’s best available perimeter player, Jimmy Butler, who mustered just 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field.
And he sealed the game on a baseline cut, where Royce O’Neale found him for a two-handed dunk that served as the nail in the coffin.
“Just playing together all 48 minutes, five guys, especially on the defensive end,” Bridges said. “I think we can be a force on that end.”
Cam Johnson, who arrived in Brooklyn with Bridges in the Durant deal, scored 18 points, and Cam Thomas added 19 off the bench. All five Miami Heat starters scored in double figures, led by 24 from Bam Adebayo and 21 from Gabe Vincent.
The Nets defense held the Heat bench to just 17 points.
The Nets now have a weeklong break where a team with several new faces will attempt to build chemistry entering the second half of the season.
The chemistry looks a lot better when the Nets have a player who can shoulder the offensive load. Bridges proved he can. If he can do it for an extended period, the Nets may have the answer to some of the woes that have prevented them from generating quality offense.
