Player grades: Mikal Bridges scores 31 in Nets’ 118-104 loss to the Bucks
The Brooklyn Nets welcome the Milwaukee Bucks to Barclays Center on Tuesday and lost 118-104. Milwaukee now leads the regular-season series 2-1.
For the Nets, Mikal Bridges had 31 points and five assists while Spencer Dinwiddie had 26 points and eight assists. Cameron Johnson had 19 points and Nic Claxton had nine points.
For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 15 rebounds while Khris Middleton had 18 points and six assists off the bench. Jrue Holiday had 14 points and Brook Lopez had 13 points.
In the first half, the Brooklyn Nets came to play from the beginning. The Nets won the first quarter 34-22 and at one point was on a 17-2 run. However, Milwaukee got back into the game thanks to Brooklyn turning the ball over 13 times.
In the second half, Milwaukee started on a 12-2 run to immediately erase the 10-point halftime deficit. The Bucks took control of the game in the third quarter by winning the period 39-23 by executing on both ends of the floor. With the way that Milwaukee was dominating the second half, Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn cleared the bench with a little under five minutes to go in the contest.
Here are your Nets player grades:
Spencer Dinwiddie: A-
Dinwiddie played well in this one. He was effective from every part of the floor and he did a good job of being aggressive with his drives which led to free-throws. He did a good job of helping out his teammates on the glass and he was awesome in using his vision and passing ability to set up his teammates for easy scores. Turnovers were an issue for him in this contest however.
Mikal Bridges: A
Bridges had a wonderful performance against the Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo. He was able to score in every facet of the game which included great success getting to the charity stripe. Bridges did a good job of passing the ball as his passes led to some easy shots for his teammates. He played good defense especially considering that he spent some time guarding Antetokounmpo.
Cameron Johnson: B+
Johnson had another good game for the new-look Brooklyn Nets. He was able to score from all three levels and his slashing ability got him a good amount of free-throws in this one. Johnson was a steady presence on the glass and he was playing great perimeter defense. Turnovers were an issue for him though.
Dorian Finney-Smith: C
Finney-Smith struggled shooting the ball in this contest. He could not buy a bucket from anywhere on the court and he has yet to find his touch from behind the three-point line since he came to Brooklyn. His defense was solid throughout the night given the fact that he had to guard Giannis Antetokounmpo for most of the time, sometimes on an island.
Nic Claxton: A
Claxton had a great performance in this game. He did a good job of taking his time when he got the ball and made sure to shoot the ball with touch and control. He did a good job rebounding and brought some extra value to the table by having some sweet passes to his teammates for buckets. Claxton was everywhere on the defensive in easily his best game in awhile now that he looks to have his legs back.
Cam Thomas: D
Thomas had one of his roughest outings in recent memory. He could not buy a bucket from anywhere on the court and that was with being able to create space for most of his shots to be deemed slightly open. He did a good job of helping out in the rebounding department, but other than that, he was unable to bring much else to the floor in this one.
Joe Harris: F
Harris did not do much in this one as he only played seven minutes due to his ineffectiveness. He could not buy a bucket, even though he shot just twice, and he was unable to make an impact on either end of the floor in this contest against the red-hot Milwaukee Bucks.
Day'Ron Sharpe: F
Sharpe did not do much in this one as he played sparingly because of what he did on the floor. Sharpe did a good job rebounding, but his defense left a lot to be desired.
Royce O'Neale: D
O’Neale had one of his least impactful games as a member of the Brooklyn Nets. He played 28 minutes, but did not do much in that time. He could not buy a bucket or play effective defense. Other than rebounding, O’Neale did not bring much else to the floor in this contest.
