Bridges has 42, Nets rout Hawks to boost lead for No. 6 seed
By BRIAN MAHONEY
AP Basketball Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Mikal Bridges had 42 points to continue his torrid scoring stretch in Brooklyn, and the Nets increased their lead for the final guaranteed playoff spot in the Eastern Conference by beating the Atlanta Hawks 124-107. Dorrian Finney-Smith added 19 points in his best game with the Nets, who moved two games ahead of idle Miami for the No. 6 spot with five games to play. Bridges surpassed 40 points for the second time in three games and the third time since coming to the Nets in February. He finished March with 461 points, the second-highest total by a Nets player in a month beyond the 471 scored by Kevin Durant last November.