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PHILADELPHIA — After Mikal Bridges’ homecoming got off to a good start, it ended poorly.
The Nets star had 23 points Saturday afternoon in the first half of a 121-101 loss to the 76ers at Wells Fargo Center, but he took just two shots in the second half, as Philadelphia pulled away.
Asked about how well he played — leading the Nets with 30 points, Bridges brushed aside the question.
“None of that [stuff] matters when you lose,’’ Bridges said. “It feels good to make some shots, but I’d rather miss shots and win.”
Philadelphia head coach Doc Rivers said stopping Bridges was a focal point at halftime, when his Sixers still had just a nine-point lead.
“At halftime, Bridges was destroying us,’’ Rivers said. “The first half for us was like being on the beach. He just kept curling in the paint, wide-open shots. Second half, we double-teamed him a lot more. We got the ball out of his hands and I thought that was effective.’’
Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn said he thought Bridges was hurt by the slower pace of the game in the second half.
Bridges, who was drafted 10th overall in 2018 by the 76ers before they traded him immediately to the Suns, grew up in Philadelphia, but said he wasn’t thinking about either part of his history as he played his first game as the No. 1 option on a playoff team.
“I’m so locked in on being in the playoffs and trying to win,’’ Bridges said. “Obviously, it’s nice to be home and easy for my family to get here. But the whole Philly trade thing is kind of in the past. It’s been five years. Life goes on.”
Joel Embiid and Royce O’Neale were both assessed technical fouls due to some brief shoving with 3:55 left in the third quarter.
“I don’t think I deserved a technical,’’ O’Neale said. “We just got tangled. It’s basketball.”
Spencer Dinwiddie misfired on several alley-oop attempts, leaving the ball too high most times, but Vaughn encouraged the guard to keep passing.
“I’ll take the odds of him completing those,” Vaughn said. “I’ve seen him do it before at a high level. I said during one time out, ‘The odds are in your favor.’ The good thing is our bigs were getting to the rim. It is available.”
Vaughn blamed the mistiming on a lack of practice time recently.
Rivers was asked about coaching against the Nets’ Seth Curry, who is his son-in-law.
“It’s awkward,’’ Rivers said before the game of facing Curry, who is married to Rivers’ daughter, Callie. “It always is.”
After the game, Curry called playing against Rivers “a business. You want to compete and play well against your old team. I always enjoy playing here and I’ve got a job to do. Obviously, Doc wants me to play well, but it’s his job to try to shut me down.”
Coaching against Curry, even in the playoffs, likely isn’t as awkward for Rivers as when Curry was traded from Philadelphia to Brooklyn in the infamous James Harden-Ben Simmons deal.
This week, however, Curry said there was “Nothing awkward at all [about the trade]. It’s part of the business. I understand the decision and everything that went into it. Nothing out of the ordinary.”
Curry said he hadn’t spoken to Rivers prior to the series.
“Not much really,’’ Curry said. “I haven’t really talked since we played them last. So not much. Just, like I said, good competition and looking forward to it.”
The Nets’ Dorian Finney-Smith, who was battling a right wrist injury, was fine.
“He hasn’t been limited at all,’’ Vaughn said.
Hero
The 76ers’ Joel Embiid was a force inside early before the Nets were able to double-team him effectively.
But in the second half, Embiid adjusted and teamed with James Harden to dominate.
Zero
Kyrie Irving’s trade demand led to Kevin Durant’s departure, simply leaving the Nets with no way to stick with the Sixers.
Their Game 1 loss was the result, even though the Nets played well without the pair.
Unsung hero
It wasn’t just Embiid and Harden who proved to be too much for the Nets.
Tobias Harris chipped in 21 points, hitting all three of his 3-point attempts.
Key stat
14 Offensive rebounds for Philadelphia compared to the Nets’ five.
The discrepancy helped give the Sixers many more possessions they were able to capitalize on.
Quote of the day
“None of that [stuff] matters when you lose. It feels good to make some shots, but I’d rather miss shots and win.” Mikal Bridges, who scored a game-high 30 points for the Nets
— Additional reporting by Brian Lewis
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