Nets' misfiring Mikal Bridges aims for better days

The shots kept clanging off the rims at Barclays Center on Wednesday night. Mikal Bridges wasn’t deterred and kept shooting, but it never really got any better.

A slump that started during the Nets’ road trip reached its low point against the Knicks as Bridges shot 4-for-21. He struggled to find answers amid one of the worst shooting stretches of his career.

“It’s just like a mix. Missing ones I like and that I’m getting to,” Bridges said after the game. “It’s tough. I don’t want to miss ’em. I want to make every single one.”

There’s plenty of reasons why the Nets had gone 1-5 in their last six games entering Friday night’s home game against the Nuggets. Bridges’ shooting woes stand out among them.

Since shooting 7-for-19 in his return to Phoenix on Dec. 13, Bridges had shot 27.4% (17-for-62) in the last four games. Wednesday was his worst shooting performance as a Net and his worst since shooting 4-for-24 on Dec. 13 last year while with the Suns.

He was 1-for-8 on three-pointers, but as Bridges noted, he didn’t feel as if he were rushing shots or getting them out of rhythm.

But with a four-game sample, all losses, the Nets’ second-leading scorer hasn’t been his usual efficient self when it comes to scoring.

“It’s just the way — the ebb and flow of the season,” coach Jacque Vaughn said. “At the end of this thing, I’m quite sure his averages will be where they’re supposed to be and he’ll be an impactful player like he’s been the majority of this season. You just go through little patches where the ball isn’t going in for you.”

Bridges’ struggles are mirroring the Nets’ offensive swoon the past six games. During that span, they’re 25th out of 30 teams in offensive efficiency, 26th in scoring and last in field-goal percentage.

The Nets shot a season-low 36.6% against the Knicks, and three of their six worst shooting performances have come in the last four games.

Tired legs could be an answer, and Vaughn conceded that he’s worn some players pretty thin over one-third of the season because of injuries. But Vaughn wouldn’t use it as an excuse and neither did Dennis Smith Jr.

Smith, who was cleared to return Friday after missing seven games with an upper back sprain, said the Nets have to get back to competing at a high level. He was confident that Bridges will find his shooting touch and promised a full effort himself.

“Make or miss, I’m going 110 [percent] whenever I get a chance to,” Smith said. “It’d be more so leading by example, or showing like, we all out here with you, we all are struggling too, it is what it is. I mean, it’s not just you, it’s the whole team.”

Bridges was in a three-point shooting slump earlier this season but he’s now at 37.7%, right around his career average. The Nets hope he can fight his way through this but until he does, it’s another factor in their offense being off recently.

The only solution, for Bridges, is to keep doing what he did Wednesday. Take shots if they’re good looks and trust they’ll finally fall again.

“Keep shooting and don’t listen to other people. That’s it,” Cam Johnson said of his advice to Bridges. “People say all types of stuff; don’t listen to them. Focus on what you do and believe in yourself. At the end of the day, it’s going to come back.”

By Evan Barnes

evan.barnes@newsday.comevan_b

Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.