The Nets are turning tense minutes into stoppage time and turning blown leads into an art form.
And this was heartbreaking.
Brooklyn overcame a fourth-quarter cushion and lost 105-103 on Anfernee Simons' dagger in front of a crowd of 17,021 at the Moda Center.
They led by as many as 11 points, and with a minute and a half left, they led by four points.
But it culminated with Simmons' 7-foot jumper with 0.2 seconds left, giving the Trail Blazers an 8-2 lead.
Mikal Bridges was briefly sidelined with a leg injury, but returned and finished with 21 points, and looked to Simmons for help.
However, Spencer Dinwiddie was late to reverse with a double, giving Simmons the winner.
The Nets (16-24) have dropped 14 of their last 17 games, and this three-game West Coast road trip started in bad fashion.
After losing 8-2 to Miami on MLK Day in the final minute and a half of overtime, they repeated the same mistake two nights later.
That overshadowed some positive signs. Dinwiddie ended the slide with 19 points and seven assists.
He went into Wednesday's game a whopping minus-90 compared to his previous seven games.
Over the past three games, he averaged 3.3 points and 3 assists on 3-of-15 shooting.
However, in Portland, after a scoreless first half, they finally started to lose their groove and showed signs of getting back on track in the second half.
But it didn't matter. Jerami Grant scored 30 points and grabbed seven boards, contributing to Portland's late victory.
To understand the Nets' defensive situation, let's take a moment to consider these numbers.
Portland entered the night in last place in the entire league:
point.
photograph.
Evaluation of attack power.
Effective field goal percentage.
Just about everything related to scoring, attacking, and putting the ball in the basket.
And the Nets couldn't stop this team until the end.
Clinging to a 57-56 advantage, the Nets went on an 11-3 run, including the final five points without a score.
Portland guard Malcolm Brogdon made a 3-pointer and a short 4-footer when Bridges missed a shot from behind the arc.
As a result, Brooklyn had to work its way out of a 67-60 hole.
Shortly thereafter, things went from bad to near catastrophic.
Bridges was clipped in the shin area of his right leg by Jabari Walker.
He went down in obvious discomfort, was helped to his feet, and then limped carefully off the court with 4:27 left in the third game, with Brooklyn trailing 70-69.
Shortly after Scoot Henderson's two free throws brought the Nets within three points, they scored their most important score of the night.
With the trainer working the bridge, Brooklyn scored 14 straight points to go up 83-72.
Dinwiddie started the spurt with a steal and breakaway dunk off a bad pass by Scoot Henderson.
He added a 3-pointer off a Cam Thomas feed to give Brooklyn a 79-72 lead.
Dinwiddie earned a trip to the line and calmly sank both, putting the Nets up by nine points with 1:37 left in the third.
Thomas scored at the stripe with 12.6 seconds left to give the Nets an 11-point lead.
However, the Nets had a tendency to take the lead and this game wasn't going to end easily.
Leading 86-78 early in the fourth, they threw up seven unanswered runs and cut the lead to one point on Simmons' layup with 8:31 left.
After Dinwiddie made 1 of 2 free throws, Grant's 3-pointer erased the lead.
The rest of the night was back and forth.
Simmons' free throws gave them a 95-94 lead, but Nick Claxton made a spectacular dunk.
Dinwiddie also made a huge 3-pointer to make it 99-95 with 2:29 left.
The Nets tied the game at 101-all on a jumper by Portland with 54.3 seconds left.
And after Bridges missed a wild driving layup, he couldn't get a body on Grant, allowing him an uncontested putback with 9.7 seconds left.
Cam Johnson's hesitation and shooting prowess allowed him to outrun the chasing Grant. With 5.2 seconds left in regulation, he made a downhill layup to tie the game.
But Simmons won.
