Mikal Bridges Takes Responsibility for Crucial Miss in Nets' Overtime Defeat

Nets' star scores 45, but comes up short in comeback march to lead Nets over Hawks.

© Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

In an intense battle of firepower and gunning offense, the Brooklyn Nets came up short against the Atlanta Hawks in an overtime thriller, 147-145. Amid Mikal Bridges’ masterpiece wherein he tied his career-best with 45 points, the Nets were left behind in the closing seconds and were outlasted by a resilient Hawks team led by Trae Young’s massive 43-point counter.

In postgame of their defeat in front of the raucous State Farm Arena crowd, Bridges took full responsibility for his key lapses amid being the man of the night for Brooklyn. He also got nothing but love about his squad’s comeback effort upon being down significantly in the first half.

So close, yet so far

Bridges understands well that it has been the best game of his career against the Hawks this Wednesday, but he is also fully aware that he came up short in crunch time that could’ve landed the Nets in an escaping win.

Amid a clutch takeover in the overtime’s final minute wherein he drained back-to-back mid-range buckets to push his team at the front, Bridges’ heroics got halted as he was rejected by Onyeka Okungwu when the Nets went down by a point with eight seconds left.

Mikal Bridges hit some big shots late and then Onyeka Okongwu said no. pic.twitter.com/Te9Vbz8xWH

— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) November 23, 2023

In a humbling tone, Bridges didn’t deny that this moment would stay on his head for the meantime.

“Yeah, just got to make them, that’s what it is. Just got to make them,” said Bridges. “I missed some easy ones, some layups I should have made that’s going to haunt me a day or two. But yeah, just gotta make them.”

Kept the fight

In the end, Bridges has his head held high about Brooklyn’s comeback rally.

The rising star powered the Nets’ barrage from being down by as much as 15, and eight in the final frame. The fact that they came up pounding and nearly pulled off a come-from-behind dub over Atlanta, Bridges can only be delighted about his team’s guts and determination.

On a different note, it will require a lot more of it for the Nets to get back to .500 record on the season, as they are now 6-9.

“We just had to keep fighting,” Bridges said. “That was everybody in the huddle. Coaches, players. We just got to keep going. There’s no quit. We just kept fighting, fighting, and almost had it.”

Three Crucial Takeaways from Nets' Heartbreaking Loss to Hawks