Mikal Bridges scored 26 of his 42 points in the first quarter and the Brooklyn Nets ended the Orlando Magic’s nine-game winning streak with a 129-101 victory in New York on Saturday night.
The Magic missed a chance at their first 10-game winning streak in franchise history partly because Orlando’s defenders had trouble stopping Bridges, especially in the opening 12 minutes.
Bridges produced the highest-scoring opening quarter since Luka Doncic scored 28 for Dallas on Feb. 10, 2022. It was the third-highest quarter for a Net since the 1996-97 season, trailing D’Angelo Russell (27 points 2019) and Joe Johnson (29 points 2013). Bridges also had 34 points by halftime, marking the highest-scoring half in the NBA this season.
Bridges was held to one point in Brooklyn’s shaky third quarter when the Nets were outscored 34-25 and let their lead slip to nine on two occasions.
Bridges finished 12 of 20 from the field and also hit 15 free throws in his fifth-career 40-point game.
Spencer Dinwiddie added 22 and scored Brooklyn’s final 11 points of the third as the Nets took a 98-85 lead into the fourth. Bridges reached 40 points by finishing a three-point play with 5:22 left that upped Brooklyn’s lead to 114-94.
Cam Thomas added 20 for the Nets, who shot 50.5 percent and hit 14 3s. Cameron Johnson added 14 while Dennis Smith Jr. contributed 10 points and 11 rebounds to help the Nets to a 57-36 rebounding edge.
Bridges scored 10 of Brooklyn’s first 17 points and his open corner 3 put the Nets up 17-9 with about 5 1/2 minutes left. He capped his big quarter by scoring Brooklyn’s final 12 points as the Nets raced out to a 43-22 lead. Bridges surpassed 30 points by converting a three-point play with 2:07 left to make it 70-45 and the Nets built a 73-51 lead by halftime.
Franz Wagner and Cole Anthony scored 20 apiece to lead Orlando, which had not lost since Nov. 14 in Brooklyn. Paolo Banchero added 19 as the Magic shot 40.2 percent from the floor.
–Field Level Media
