After making several deals before the NBA trade deadline, the undermanned Nets faced red-hot Cleveland with just nine players.
And that skeleton crew gave up the ghost.
Brooklyn lost 118-95 in front of a crowd of 17,304 at Barclays Center, running out of steam in the third quarter to take the lead.
The Nets (20-31) trailed by just eight points at intermission, but came out of the intermission scoring the first 21 points of the second half.
Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle sprain), Cam Johnson (left adductor strain), Daylon Sharp (left knee hyperextension), Lonnie Walker (left hamstring strain), Darik Whitehead (shin) (stress response) were all injured.
The Nets traded Spencer Dinwiddie and Royce O’Neal and waived Harry Giles and new additions Thad Young and Jordan Goodwin, sources told the Post.
Rookies Dennis Schröder and Keita Batesdiop were still unavailable.
Schroeder, an up-and-coming athlete, attended the games in street clothes. He witnessed the ugly situation where the Nets were trailing by as many as 31 points.
Mikal Bridges scored 26 points but got little help for a poor team.
Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with five players in double figures in scoring with a game-high 27 points.
