Mikal Bridges plays four seconds to extend streak in Nets' meaningless finale
Nets forward Mikal Bridges walks onto the court for the start of an NBA game against the 76ers at Barclays Center on Sunday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Nets concluded their regular season on Sunday against the team they will meet in the first round of the playoffs starting this coming Saturday. But it would be a stretch to call what occurred at Barclays Center a playoff preview.
The Nets and 76ers, locked into the sixth and third seeds, respectively, in the Eastern Conference, rested their top players to keep everyone fresh and healthy.
When 76ers coach Doc Rivers was asked before the game what he hoped to get out of it, he said, “I’m just trying to get to see the end of the Masters, if you want me to be honest.”
For the record, the 76ers won, 134-105, in advance of the teams’ rematch that counts, which will begin in Philadelphia.
The second-tier Nets (45-37) and 76ers (54-28) managed to keep the sellout crowd engaged and entertained until Philadelphia pulled away with a 34-13 fourth quarter.
Cam Thomas scored 46 points for the Nets, his fourth 40-point game this season and one shy of his career high, missing several chances to surpass it.
Thomas had 42 points after three quarters and 46 with 8:22 left, but he missed some shots — including one he thought should have been called goaltending — and was unamused when the 76ers doubled him aggressively in the final minutes.
“I’m like, ‘If y’all wanted to double, you should have done it when I had like 30 in the third quarter,’ ” Thomas said. “You don’t have to do it with a minute or two left so I can’t get 50.”
When Thomas saw the 76ers’ bench point at Paul Reed to trap him, he said he started “pointing and laughing, like, ‘Y’all look bad right now.’ ”
Thomas added, “It is what it is. Last game of the season. We have another season coming up, so hopefully we can get them then.”
Coach Jacque Vaughn gave no indication that Thomas’ usually limited role will expand in the playoffs, but Thomas felt it was important to jump at this chance for extended time, saying, “You don’t want to miss any opportunities. Very limited around here.”
The day’s most historically significant event lasted four seconds.
Vaughn revealed beforehand his plan for Mikal Bridges, who was in line to become the 42nd player in NBA history to play 83 games in a regular season and to play in his 392nd consecutive game overall, the longest active streak in the league.
“I’m going to tell him that you’re basically going to go into the game and you’re going to foul and then I’m going to get your tail out of the game,” Vaughn said.
That was exactly what happened. With 11:56 left in the first quarter, Bridges fouled Shake Milton and went to the bench for good, replaced by David Duke Jr.
Before the game, Bridges told Newsday he supported Vaughn’s plan.
“Very reasonable,” he said. “I’m not hurting anything. The whole thing’s just resting as well as getting everybody else playing and getting more minutes. It’s good. Just go out there and get ready to cheer [for teammates].
“If this game was meant for something, I still would have been playing. It’s cool, though. It’s an opportunity to be able to play every day. I’m just blessed.”
The 76ers led 61-53 at halftime and 100-92 after three quarters. They had seven players score in double figures.
Thomas shot 16-for-29 in nearly 43 minutes and had one assist. RaiQuan Gray had 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in 35 minutes in his NBA debut.
Gray, a 6-8 forward, was signed to a two-way contract before the game. He has spent the past two seasons with the Long Island Nets.
“It’s like a dream come true,” he said, “but I felt comfortable and confident.”
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
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