Mikal Bridges offers Nets hope going into NBA All-Star break

The YES Network cameras panned over to the Nets bench several times after Mikal Bridges hit a big shot against the Miami Heat and you could tell his new teammates were feeling the vibes he was putting out there. Bridges’ signature celebration — one he borrowed from San Diego Padres’ star Manny Machado — had quickly caught on as Nets players were seen smiling and flashing the “finger point.”

Bridges certainly felt that as each bucket dropped as Bridges put up 45 points in the Nets’ 116-105 win over the Heat.

“I think every time a coach called a timeout (my teammates) just all gassed up and get me hyped up, so that’s why I kind of really feel it, they were telling me keep going, keep cooking. And the crowd too,” Bridges said.

In the post-superstar era, it was unclear where the Nets’ primary scoring would come from with so much of the offense running through Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Now, it seems they may have found their answer in Bridges, who has put up 20-plus points in two of his first three games as a Net and eight of his last nine games overall.

And equally as notable was his ability to help the Nets close out the game in the fourth quarter. The Nets had sorely missed a closer since Irving was dealt to Dallas on Feb. 5 and had struggled to put games away without on the floor.

That changed on Wednesday night as Bridges put up 15 straight points for the Nets in a span of three minutes late in the fourth quarter.

“I mean, never scored 40 in my life, so it’s a first,” Bridges said. “But like I said, just being aggressive. Just doing whatever it takes to win. That’s really what it comes down to, like I said, just winning the game. Even if I score 40 or I score five. If I was to score five and I was aggressive and we won, I would feel good anyway. So just trying to win man, just doing whatever it takes honestly.”

Bridges was able to do a little bit of everything for the Nets in the win on both ends of the floor, providing a good defensive effort with two blocked shots and a pair of steals. However, the offense was what drew the spotlight.

The forward finished shooting 17-of-24 with his shot selection spreading the floor from outside the arc to inside the paint.

“I’m just trying to continue to get better and get to the point where I could score a little bit more,” Bridges said. “Just coming here, it’s kind of just a new step just to grow. I feel like I was growing in Phoenix, but we got guys like (Chris Paul), Hall of Famer. (Devin Booker) is going to be a Hall of Famer; and Book’s younger than me, so it’s gonna be tough for my path to get there because the guy in front of me is just slowly getting better, slowly getting better.

“But now it’s going to be a situation where I’ve kind of got to learn and grow a little bit faster. And excited for the opportunity.”

Bridges was able to put up the career effort with his mom in the stands at Barclays Center and he walked over to her after the game and handed her his jersey along with a big hug. Afterward, he said the fact he could do it with her in the stands “everything” and joked she might need to be courtside every game from now on.

The Nets may have found their go-to offensive weapon and Bridges could get the jolt to grow his game even further, which all would be crucial as the Nets look to piece together wins and keep themselves from falling into a play-in round position.

For Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn, Bridges’ big night extended just beyond him.

“Then you were able to see other guys have space to shoot threes,” Vaughn said about the riple effect. “You were able to see Nick (Claxton) get on top of the rim a few times because of that. And then also ou look at our ability to get into the pain, whether it was to drive and kick. Cam Thomas garnered a lot of attention tonight. They even got to a point of double-teaming, so we use that to our advantage.”