Mikal Bridges’ expanded offensive game with Brooklyn Nets on display in Game 1

Mikal Bridges got past Tobias Harris on the Brooklyn Nets’ first possession, then hit a leaner from six feet away.

That was Bridges’ first bucket on a Saturday afternoon when the Philly native, former Villanova star, and former Sixers draft pick showcased what he has blossomed into since joining the Nets in the Kevin Durant blockbuster trade. He scored 30 points on 12-of-18 shooting in Game 1 of the 76ers-Nets first-round series. Yet 23 of those came in the first half — and it’s not a coincidence that, once he stopped taking and hitting shots, the Sixers began to run away with a 121-101 victory.

“[Bridges] set the tone, really getting to his spots, showed an array of shots,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said postgame. “It’s on me to continue to get the ball to him and also continue to have pace.”

After the game, Bridges had little interest in talking about what he could learn individually from a playoff appearance as the top offensive option, after averaging 26.1 points on 47.5% shooting in 27 regular-season games with the Nets.

He shifted a question about that topic to the areas his team must improve in Game 2, including rebounding (the Sixers had a 14-5 advantage on the offensive glass) and turnovers (Brooklyn had 19 that led to 31 Sixers points). In response to a later question about seeing the ball go through the basket early, Bridges said, “none of that [stuff] matter when you lose. It feels good to make some shots, but I’d rather miss shots and win. It’s whatever.”

Bridges also did not want to reveal any sentimentality of playing a postseason game in his hometown arena. When asked if he took a moment to soak in that reality — which previously would have required the Sixers and Phoenix Suns making the Finals — he said, “no, not really.” Even his postgame visit with about 20 gathered family was brief, before he disappeared back into the tunnel.

“Obviously, it’s nice to be home [because] it’s easy for my family to get here,” Bridges said. “But I think the whole Philly thing, the whole trade thing, it’s kind of passed. It’s been five years. Life goes on.”

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Bridges does remain one of the Sixers’ more prominent recent “what-ifs.” Had the Sixers kept him as the 10th overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft instead of dealing him to Phoenix that night, Bridges would have been a rookie on the squad that added Jimmy Butler in a midseason trade to pair with All-Stars in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. The following summer, the Sixers drafted Matisse Thybulle, another lockdown perimeter defender who did not develop enough offensively before being traded to the Portland Trail Blazers at this season’s February deadline.

Instead, Bridges became an excellent complementary player with a Suns team that dramatically transformed from a 19-win team in 2018-19 into the 2020 “bubble” darlings, then went to the NBA Finals in 2021 and had the league’s best regular-season record the following season.

As a rookie, Bridges immediately was tasked with guarding the opposing team’s top perimeter scorer. Then, he steadily added to his offensive game. He fixed an ugly hitch in his jumper to make 38.9% of his three-point attempts from 2019-22. He added a mid-range pull-up, and creative-yet-strong finishes around the rim in transition.

And when the Suns sustained several injuries, including to All-Star Devin Booker, early this season, Bridges took on more of a go-to scoring load. He has taken an even greater step since arriving in Brooklyn, playing more on the ball, including in isolation plays. He has remained a top-notch defender and an ironman, playing in 83 games in the regular season to keep alive his streak of never missing an NBA regular-season or playoff outing for which he was eligible.

“It’s just all the work materializing into production on the court,” said Cam Johnson, his teammate in Phoenix and Brooklyn who says he has gotten a “first-class seat” to Bridges’ rise. “Every shot that he shot, I’ve seen him shoot a bunch of times. … He had to take on a bigger role [for a period in Phoenix] of kind of controlling the game, and from there his feel just continued to elevate.

“He’s a guy that’s just constantly ready for those opportunities.”

Vaughn said he wanted Bridges to play in space against the Sixers, particularly while playing against physical veteran P.J. Tucker. That catch-and-go approach helped yield an early baseline floater for Bridges. And a falling and-1 conversion while being guarded by De’Anthony Melton, a teammate when they were rookies with the Suns who said he “loves” Bridges’ style because “he plays the right way.” A driving one-handed slam that got the Nets’ bench on its feet. In the second half, however, Bridges noticed the Sixers blitzing more, and tried to counter by “just making the right read.”

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Bridges has maintained a connection to his hometown throughout his NBA career. He is a visceral Phillies fan, live-tweeting his jubilation and agony during their World Series run. He wore a Flyers hat during his postgame interview after he made his Nets debut in February against, coincidentally, the Sixers. Vaughn said before Saturday’s Game 1 that he did not specifically address the potential distractions that could come with playing in Philly, trusting that Bridges has played in enough high-stakes games to manage the emotions.

And for a half, at least, Bridges showed what he has blossomed into with his new team.

“To be a scorer, a guy that produces on a nightly basis,” Vaughn said, “you’ve got to have a consciousness about you that, [if] you miss a couple, you’ve got to keep rolling and you’re going to figure it out somehow. …

“You can make adjustments defensively when that’s your only task of the night. But to do it on both ends, to figure out how to make adjustments throughout the course of the game offensively, that’s been eye-opening.”