Phoenix Suns wing Mikal Bridges explodes for 29 points in win over Raptors

Suns wing Mikal Bridges was on fire in Phoenix’s 114-106 win over the Toronto Raptors on Monday night at Footprint Center.

Bridges finished with a game-high 29 points on 12-of-19 shooting (63.2%), including 3-for-4 from three-point range (75%) and 2-of-2 from the free throw line.

He also added six assists, three steals, three rebounds and one block to go along with a couple of clutch buckets in nearly 39 minutes played.

Back-to-back clutch buckets from Mikal! pic.twitter.com/uffAo19bZ5

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) January 31, 2023

“You make some, miss some, but if you just stay confident and take the shots and stuff that you work on, why not be confident on it?” Bridges told the Phoenix Suns Radio Network postgame of his clutch shots.

“Just staying ready, just staying confident and I’m liking the shots that I’m taking.

In fact, Bridges finished the half with 23 points (a career-high in one half), 16 of which came in the first quarter — another career high for points in a quarter.

WATCH: Phoenix Suns wing Mikal Bridges drops 23 points in the first half (a career high for one half)!

🎥: @JGSports_6 pic.twitter.com/rjXnQP0j5P

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) January 31, 2023

“Just a lot of work in the offseason and continuing through the preseason and during the season,” Bridges added.

“Just staying ready, just keep getting better every day. That’s what I preach is just try to get better every day, every year — just be the best player I can be.”

The wing played the entire 12-minute opening frame and shot 75% from the field (6-of-8), featuring a perfect 3-for-3 mark from deep to go along with three steals, two assists and one rebound and one free throw.

Bridges 16 points in the first quarter accounted for over half of the Phoenix’s total points en route to a 31-28 lead.

And that’s because of this long-range three-pointer from Suns point guard Chris Paul at the buzzer.

Chris Paul hits the long 3 ball at the 1st quarter buzzer!

🎙️ @JonBloom pic.twitter.com/lfzTT4cYdE

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) January 31, 2023

The Suns are now on a two-game winning streak and have won six of their last seven games.

“We had those bumps and bruises when we were losing a lot, but the thing is adversity,” Bridges said. “We’re all going to go through it, every team is going to go through it and it’s all what you’re going to do.

“And when times get tough, what we do, we just stay with it. We stay the course of who we are and continue to win and get our guys back and stay hungry and stay trying to win.”

UP NEXT

The Suns host the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday at 8 p.m. on Arizona Sports 98.7, the Arizona Sports app and ArizonaSports.com.

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