
Knicks’ Bridges returns to Brooklyn
Nets welcome back Iron Man at Barclays

Mikal Bridges was asked to play the leading role in Brooklyn.
He’s doing much better as part of a three-headed monster across the East River.
Bridges, traded to the Knicks last summer for five first-round draft picks, will make his return to the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush Tuesday night when the ever-slumping Nets return from a humbling road trip to host New York.
Acquired in the deal that sent Kevin Durant to Phoenix nearly two years ago, Bridges averaged career bests of 21.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists during his 109-game tenure with Brooklyn.
After lighting up the opposition for just over 26 points per game during his initial 27-game stint to close out the 2022-23 campaign, Bridges entered last season as the Nets’ first option on the offensive end.
He had three 40-plus point efforts and helped Brooklyn back to the playoffs while filling most of the scoring gap left by Durant and Kyrie Irving, both of whom were traded out of our borough in February 2023.
But the NBA’s Iron Man, who has yet to miss a game through 507 appearances in the league, appeared to wilt a bit as the Nets struggled through their first year without a postseason berth since the 2017-18 campaign.
He only managed 19.6 points over the grind of an 82-game slate while shooting 43.6 percent from the floor, his worst year for field-goal accuracy since 2018-19, when he was a rookie with the Suns.
Bridges held himself accountable for his performance as well as the Nets’ failure to participate in the playoffs.
“You could say it was a failure. 100%. It’s tough, you know? Especially seeing the teams that are in there [the playoffs], and you just know the talent we have and things like that,” he noted.
“I don’t think there was any part of my brain that thought that I’d be sitting here talking to you guys like this before this season … You gotta be better. That’s the biggest thing I take from it.”
Nets general manager Sean Marks took it as an opportunity to send Bridges packing, albeit with a rare trade to the Knicks, who have greatly benefited from having the 6-foot-6 Villanova alum as a complementary piece alongside Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Bridges is putting up 17.9 points per game for New York (28-16), which boasts the third-best record in the Eastern Conference one year after taking Indiana to Game 7 of the East semifinals.
He strutted his stuff against Atlanta Monday night at Madison Square Garden, scoring 26 points on 12-of-17 shooting to go with four assists while holding Trae Young in check as the Knicks topped the Hawks, 119-110.
The Nets (14-29) have already lost their first two reunions with Bridges at the Garden. The teams played a two-game set in midtown from Nov. 15-17, and Bridges averaged 21.5 points, 5.5 boards and 2.5 assists in those triumphs.
He will doubtlessly receive a video tribute from the Nets at some point Tuesday, but should get a warm welcome back from the Barclays Center crowd as well as his former teammates and coaching staff.
“It’ll be just good to be back,” Bridges told the New York Post. “To see my teammates and the coaching staff that was there for a couple months before I got traded. See the staff and everybody. Good energy.”

Brooklyn is returning to Barclays after going 1-5 on a brutal West Coast swing.
The Nets have lost three in a row, eight of nine overall and seven straight at home dating to a 99-90 victory over Indiana here on Dec. 4.
Rookie coach Jordi Fernández watched in dismay as Oklahoma City dismantled the Nets in the opening quarter of Sunday’s trip-ending 127-101 defeat in front of 18,203 fans at Paycom Center.
“That first quarter it felt like the 3s were raining,” said Fernández, who saw the Western Conference-leading Thunder run out to a 32-7 lead, highlighted by an 18-0 run, in the opening quarter.
The Thunder shot 62% from the field in the first half, including an eye-popping 61% (11-of-18) from beyond the arc.
“Yes, they made them, because you have to make them,” added Fernández. “We made some mistakes especially in defending the small pick-and-roll. Obviously we have to work at it and be better.”
Brooklyn’s longest road trip of the season featured a pair of heartbreaking one-point losses, the largest margin of defeat in franchise history and a rousing win at Portland last Tuesday night.
Despite going 5-19 since an inspiring 9-10 start to this rebuilding season, Fernández has stayed the course in inspiring his undermanned and injury-depleted unit.
“Getting better doesn’t stop right now,” he said. “We have to have high standards and I think these guys have been amazing with the high standards of getting better.”
Cam Johnson returned from a two-game absence due to an ankle injury to score 15 points in Oklahoma City, but Cam Thomas (hamstring), Trendon Watford (hamstring) and Ziaire Williams (ankle) will remain out against the Knicks Tuesday.
D’Angelo Russell (hamstring) and Ben Simmons (illness) are both listed as questionable.
Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.

NOTHING BUT NET: The Nets will host Durant and the Suns here Wednesday before closing out this three-game homestand Saturday vs. Miami. Brooklyn will retire Vince Carter’s No. 15 vs. the Heat, lifting his jersey to the Barclays rafters. The Hall of Famer’s banner will hang next to Jason Kidd’s No. 5. The Empire State Building will be lit up in red, white and blue, the Nets’ colors from when Carter was with the team in New Jersey, to celebrate the event. … The Nets’ 5-12 home record is the third-worst in the NBA.
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