Mikal Bridges scores 30 as Nets beat Jazz 111-110

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets hosted the Utah Jazz at Barclays Center on Sunday for the second and final matchup between the teams this season and won 111-110. Brooklyn has swept the regular-season series 2-0.

For the Nets, Mikal Bridges had 30 points and three steals while Spencer Dinwiddie had 17 points and 12 assists. Cam Johnson had 18 points and Nic Claxton had 14 points.

For the Jazz, Talen Horton-Tucker had 32 points and eight assists while Lauri Markkanen had 23 points and nine rebounds. Ochai Agbaji had 19 points and Kris Dunn had 13 points off the bench.

In the first half, Brooklyn had one of the more balanced scoring attacks that they’ve had this season with four players scoring at least eight points, led by Mikal Bridges with 11 points. Transition defense was an issue for the Nets as they allowed the Jazz to score nine points on fastbreaks compared to just one point for Brooklyn. The Nets also had trouble guarding Talen Horton-Tucker as he scored 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field.

In the second half, the Nets started the half the same way that they ended the first half as they continued to do what they had to do to pressure Utah on the perimeter. However, in the fourth quarter, Brooklyn had a collapse of epic proportions as a 23-point lead was whittled down to just a one-point win. Utah made a furious comeback in the end thanks to lack of execution from the Nets and as Spencer Dinwiddie said, Brooklyn got lucky to walk away from this one with a win.

Here are your Nets player grades:

Spencer Dinwiddie: B+

Dinwiddie struggled to shoot the ball in this one. He had his shot working from three-point land, but he had trouble finishing at the basket over the three-big lineup that Utah used. Despite his trouble scoring, he was able to use his speed and ball-handling ability to get pass his defender to force the defense to converge on him so that he could find the open teammate and rack up the assists.

Mikal Bridges: A-

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Bridges had a tough time shooting the ball against the Jazz. While he scored a lot of points, he wasn’t that efficient from the field and actually could not buy a bucket from three-point range. To make up for the inefficiency, Bridges got to the free-throw line a bunch and that’s where a good amount of his points came from. He did a great job of helping the team rebound the basketball and he was a pest on the perimeter with the pressure that he was putting on the ball-handlers of the Jazz.

Cam Johnson: B+

Johnson did a great job of scoring the basketball in this one. He did a good amount of his damage inside the three-point arc as he was able to drive to the basket at will and either finish strong at the rim or pick up a hard foul. Johnson hit the floor a few times so it’ll be interesting to see if he learns how to drive to the basket without falling just to prevent injuries. He did a good job of rebounding and he showed more of his ability to handle the ball in traffic and make something happen on the offensive end.

Dorian Finney-Smith: B-

Finney-Smith did a good job of shooting the ball in this one. He did not have the scoring outburst that he did the other night against the Hawks, but Finney-Smith was effective nonetheless. While he played solid defense, Finney-Smith also had some trouble defending without fouling, especially when players like Lauri Markkanen and Kelly Olynyk put the ball on the floor.

Nic Claxton: A-

Claxton did a great job of scoring the ball in this one. Not only was Claxton effective as usual with finishing lobs at the basket, but he also showed some of his post game when the ball was dumped down to him. Claxton has been exploring his post-up game a good amount lately and the improvement is showing on a nightly basis. Claxton did a good job of rebounding the basket and his defense was solid despite not blocking shots.

Royce O’Neale: C-

O’Neale had a tough time shooting the ball in this one. He could not buy a bucket from three-point range in his second time playing his former team this season. He was getting good looks at the basket, but for some reason, he could not get many of his shots to fall. However, O’Neale did a good job of rebounding the basketball and he showed off his ability to handle the ball and find open teammates for good shots as well.

Day’Ron Sharpe: C

Sharpe had a bounceback performance in this matchup with the Jazz. While he did not score much, he showed better hands when it came to catching the ball and finishing at the rim. He did a great job of rebounding and he seemed better prepared for this game than he was against the Hawks.

Joe Harris: F

Harris did not play much in this one as it clearly was not his day in terms of shooting the basketball. Nonetheless, he did a little bit of everything else while on the floor so there’s that. Brooklyn has seen Harris shoot the ball a lot better than he did against Utah.

Seth Curry: C+

Curry did a good job of scoring the ball in this one. His three-point shot wasn’t working that well, but he was able to use his mid-range game to get his points. Curry has proved valuable as a ball-handler off the bench and his ability to create off the dribble means a lot to the Nets’ rotation.

Yuta Watanabe: C

Watanabe did not play much in this one, but he made every minute count. He made two threes and he showed his ability to do whatever the team needs from him at any moment. Watanabe brought his usual energy off the bench and he was willing to do the dirty work on defense.

Cam Thomas: D

Thomas played for the first time in quite some time and he looked about as expected. With someone having an inconsistent role in the rotation like Thomas is, he showed it in his offensive rhythm. Thomas is arguably one of the better scorers on the roster, but since he needs the ball in his hands, it’s hard for him to get a flow in spot minutes here and there.

Story originally appeared on Nets Wire