Player grades: Mikal Bridges drops 42 as Nets beat Magic 129-101
NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets hosted the Orlando Magic at Barclays center on Saturday and won 129-101.
For the Nets, Mikal Bridges had 42 points and five rebounds while Spencer Dinwiddie had 22 points and four rebounds. Cam Thomas had 20 points and Cam Johnson had 14 points.
For the Magic, Franz Wagner had 20 points and seven rebounds while Cole Anthony had 20 points and five rebounds off the bench. Paolo Banchero had 19 points and Moritz Wagner had 18 points off the bench.
In the first half, the Nets began the game with an effort that they did not show on Thursday night against the Hornets as they won every 50/50 ball against the Magic. Also, Mikal Bridges had the best half of his career as he scored 34 points from all over the floor, including from behind the three-point line. Brooklyn went into halftime leading Orlando 73-51.
In the second half, the Magic made a furious comeback to start the third quarter as they started to make some of the easy shots that they were missing in the first half along with the Nets starting to get sloppy with their play to begin the half. After about halfway through the third quarter, Brooklyn picked up their play to force Orlando out of striking distance into a fourth quarter that was Nets-dominated just like the first.
Here are your Nets player grades following Saturday’s win:
Spencer Dinwiddie: A
Dinwiddie had a great offensive game which was impressive considering that Mikal Bridges was busy trying to outscore the entire Orlando Magic team by himself. As usual, Dinwiddie’s game was under control as he took what the Magic’s defense gave to him and he even had some instances where he took advantage of Orlando’s aggressive on-ball defense. Contrary to Thursday’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets, Dinwiddie did a better job of remaining aggressive while allowing Bridges and Cam Thomas to feel their way through the game as well.
Cam Thomas: B-
Thomas had arguably one of the worst offensive games of his career as he could not find a rhythm, especially after he picked up two fouls within the early minutes of the first quarter. In addition, Thomas had a tough time finding any daylight against Anthony Black and Jalen Suggs as they made sure to get into Thomas’ body and force him to speed his game up. With that being said, Thomas did a great job of remaining productive on the floor as he mixed it up on the glass and showed some of his playmaking chops as well. It was also impressive to see him doing his best to make plays for others knowing that he didn’t have it going shooting the ball.
Mikal Bridges: A+
Bridges was awesome in this contest from the very beginning. From the opening tip, it seemed that Bridges knew that this was his night early on as he couldn’t miss from the mid-range or from deep. What was impressive to see from Bridges was his willingness to continue attacking the rim and making the Magic have to guard him on every single play. This was also one of a rare games where Nets fans saw Bridges playing elite-level defense in the same game that he was scoring a lot as well.
Cam Johnson: B
Johnson played well in this one as he seemed to be more engaged in terms of playing the passing lanes and running the floor. Johnson’s game is smooth thanks to how in-control he is of his dribble and his body, but there are some times where you like to see him hit the next gear and make some incredible plays happen. With that being said, Johnson did a great job of rebounding the ball despite being one of the smaller players on the floor in terms of weight.
Nic Claxton: D
Claxton had one of his least impactful games in this one as he was in foul trouble for most of this game. Claxton had no trouble scoring against Goga Bitadze in the paint, but the issue was more of lack and touches and minutes. Claxton did a good job of getting on the glass and protecting the rim during his time on the floor, but he has to do a better job of staying out of foul trouble because of how much he means to the Nets.
Royce O'Neale: B
O’Neale had a good game for the Nets and it was by him doing everything other than making a lot of threes. All told, O’Neale did not need to shoot a lot of three-pointers as he provided everything else that the team needs from one of its veterans. He did a great job with rebounding the basketball and he made some nice passes on a number of occasions that allowed Brooklyn’s offense to continue putting up enough points to keep the Magic at bay.
Day'Ron Sharpe: B-
Sharpe played well in extended minutes with Nic Claxton facing foul trouble for most of this game. He had one of his lower-scoring games of the season as he did not shoot much in this one as he did a good job of staying in his role and only shooting when open. To the surprise of seemingly everyone, Sharpe had an incredible spin move in the post that showed that has some growth left in that part of his game which is promising to say the least.
Dennis Smith Jr.: A+
Smith was amazing in this one after missing some time with his back injury. With the way that he played, you could not tell that Smith had a back issue at any point this season. Smith’s outside shot is not there, but his driving to the rim is and he put that on display on numerous occasions. In addition to that, Smith did a lot of everything else as he had double-digit rebounds, dished some nice assists, and was a menace on the defensive end of the floor. Easily his best game of the season.
Trendon Watford: C+
Watford played limited minutes in this one as he took a backseat in playing time to Dennis Smith Jr. and Royce O’Neale. Watford’s time on the floor was still valuable as he scored when the opportunity was there and he did a good job rebounding the basketball despite giving up some inches to Orlando’s back line.
