Nets hang on after nearly blowing huge lead to Jazz

It was more hard work than work of art.

But the Nets and Mikal Bridges gutted out a 111-110 victory over Utah before a sellout crowd of 17,732 at Barclays Center.

After seeing a 23-point cushion shrivel to just a point in the waning seconds — thanks to missing their final three free throws in the last 10 seconds — they survived Kelly Olynyk’s runner at the buzzer.

“We got lucky,” Spencer Dinwiddie said.

The Nets (43-35) have won three straight, and four of five to rebound nicely from a season-worst five-game losing skid.

They lead the seventh-place Miami Heat by two full games — and the head-to-head tiebreaker — for the sixth and final guaranteed playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

With four games left, that spot — and a potential first-round matchup with the third-place Philadelphia 76ers — is beginning to look more and more likely.

So is Bridges’ candidacy for Most Improved Player.

Bridges poured in a team-high 30 points and seven rebounds, outperforming Utah’s Lauri Markkanen, the front-runner for the award.

Mikal Bridges of the Nets (1) shoots during a game against the Jazz on April 2, 2023.Corey Sipkin for the NY Post

“I just look at has Mikal been able to improve as a player? Yes. On both ends of the floor? Yes. Can he still get better? Yes,” Jacque Vaughn said. “There’s some things he’s doing more than he’s previously done, which is improvement. We want to continue to see his improvement. … How much improvement he’s made, I’m not sure; but he can get better and he has gotten better.”

Dorian Finney-Smith helped Bridges in holding Markkanen to 23 points on 8 of 21 shooting.

Meanwhile, Bridges topped 30 for the third time in four games. He shot 11 of 13 from the free throw line, a career high for attempts.

“He’s a hell of a player, he’s a hell of a talent,” Utah coach Will Hardy said. “He developed really well while he was in Phoenix. You’re starting to see him do more off the dribble now that he’s been in Brooklyn. At his age and Lauri being as young as he is, both those guys have pretty high ceilings and will continue to get better as they get consistent opportunity.”

After a back-and-forth game during the early stages, the Nets edged ahead and stayed there.

Nets forward Cameron Johnson (2) drives against Jazz guard Kris Dunn (11) during the first half on Sunday.Corey Sipkin for the NY Post

Clinging to a 15-14 edge after Talen Horton-Tucker (game-high 32) hit a midrange fadeaway with 5:07 left in the first quarter, Brooklyn took control with a quick 11-1 run and never gave it back.

The Nets held the Jazz to three straight misses and a turnover, a Luka Samanic charge.

Bridges capped the run with a 3-pointer off a feed from pal Cam Johnson that ran the lead to 26-15 with 2:52 remaining in the first.

The Nets eventually padded their cushion to 15 in the second.

Seth Curry came off the bench and hit a 22-foot step-back off a Royce O’Neale feed to make it 32-17 with 11:27 left in the half.

And Nic Claxton’s turnaround bank shot on the very next trip downcourt pushed it back to 34-19.

A Dinwiddie eurostep and-one gave the Nets a 71-55 lead.

He followed Bridges in initiating contact and hunting fouls, and it worked.

Jazz guard Talen Horton-Tucker (0) shoots between Nets center Day’Ron Sharpe (20) and forward Royce O’Neale (00) during the first half on Sunday.Corey Sipkin for the NY Post

Yuta Watanabe drilled a right-corner 3-pointer to make it 91-70, then set up Day’Ron Sharpe’s bucket to push the lead to 93-70 with 9:51 to play.

Vaughn may have pulled his starters a bit too early.

Markkanen cut through the lane to slash the lead to 103-97 with two minutes left, and a Horton-Tucker layup made it 103-99.

But Dinwiddie stemmed the tide.

He may have gotten away with a push-off to create space, and hit a midrange floater with 1:21 to play.

It was 110-105 after Cam Johnson’s free throws with 14.1 seconds left, and Ochai Agbaji drilled a 3-pointer.

The Jazz fouled Dinwiddie and he made just one of two at the stripe, giving Utah an opportunity.

Horton-Tucker got to the line and sank both, cutting Brooklyn’s lead to 111-110 with 7.9 seconds in regulation.

Curry had a chance to ice it from the line and shockingly missed both with 5.8 seconds on the clock. But the Nets forced Olynyk to miss a runner at the buzzer to survive.