Bridges fuels Suns’ second-half rally
PHOENIX – The formula itself wasn’t too complicated: To flip the switch in the second half, the Suns needed to get stops and to score. Mikal Bridges provided both.
Bridges finished with a game-leading 23 points as Phoenix surged in the second half to beat the Nuggets 122-105 in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference second-round series Monday. The third-year forward added five assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block.
“I thought he picked his spots well, when the shots presented themselves, especially after the first quarter,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “He did a really good job of having balance tonight, taking the 3s when they presented themselves, but he also attacked the paint. And his backside defense was pretty good tonight. He was able to get a big steal on Austin (Rivers) ... which was huge . ... I just thought he had really good balance tonight.”
A chunk of Bridges’ scoring came in the second half during a 42-14 run that put the Suns solidly on top. Prior to that, Williams felt the team wasn’t playing the defense it needed. Getting consecutive stops and playing in transition flipped the game for the Suns. Williams credited Bridges for the beginning of that run.
“Mikal, his shot-making and his ability to get to the paint, the and-1 and hitting 3s, I thought that helped us in that moment,” Williams said. “And then Chris (Paul) took over for a segment.”
The 23 points were Bridges’ high of the postseason, the previous being 13 in Game 5 against the Lakers. He did so too on just 12 shots.
“For a guy that we don’t call many plays for, that’s a pretty efficient night,” Williams said.
Bridges averaged 13.5 points per game in the regular season and 9.3 against the Lakers. But Williams has expected his younger players to keep growing as they get deeper into the playoffs, and Bridges’ performance Monday reflected that.
To get there, Bridges pointed to teammates finding him open but also to the coaching staff getting on him about varying his shots.
“They put that on my mind just to mix it up a little bit,” Bridges said.
He also benefited from in-game adjustments. When veteran guard Paul saw times Bridges could improve, he didn’t hesitate to let him know right away. “I tell you, we’re really like brothers, ’cause we can say just about anything to each other, and I love that about him,” Paul said.
It came early in the game. Paul said he saw Bridges make a play where he tried to penetrate the Denver defense and instead turned it over.
“I was like, ‘You gotta shoot it. You gotta shoot it,’ ” Paul said. “And Mikal, he’s one of the 3-and-D – not just 3, whatever (shot) – defense in the league, and glad he’s on our team.”
“Mikal, man. Mikal is something else,” center Deandre Ayton added, calling Bridges “The Warden.”
“He’s guarding the best player damn near every night, the fastest player, so just gotta give all the credit to him. Especially tonight, knocking down 3s, open shots, and making good plays.”