It's hard to say it was a worse Friday: the Nets' ball handling or their defense.
What's clear is that they fell on the path they lost and suffered 121-102 thrashing at the hands of the Trail Blazers before a sold-out crowd of 18,018 at the Barclays Center.
This loss marked their third straight after a hot stretch that saw them score seven of the nine.
NETS' lack of point guard play – acquired by Dangelo Russel Hart and Ben Simmons – again forced to start 10-day signer Killian Hayes.
It was shown to the court, and the net tied the season's highest by committing 22 turnovers.
The net allowed a staggering .577 shot from the field, causing Portland to fall into an early attack.
Net (21-38) are two games behind the Bulls who are holding the results of their match against the Raptors on Friday night for the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference.
They were seventh in lottery odds, half-games below 6th Philadelphia and below 5th Toronto.
The net only took a brief lead before admitting a 13-5 run to keep up 16-11 mid-quarter.
Portland's high-flying Shaedon Sharpe (game high 25 points, five assists) then hit a 3-pointer to cap a 15-6 blitz, leaving the net at 44-31 with 7:09 left in half.
The net never got closer than the remaining night's nine, chasing up to 26 in the fourth quarter.
Hayes, Nic Claxton and Cam Thomas, who played for the first time since January 2nd, shared the team's highest honors with 16 points.
