Andres Nocioni of the Sacramento Kings takes the ball to the basket against Brook Lopez of the New Jersey Nets on Friday at ARCO Arena. (Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)The New Jersey Nets dropped their 16th straight game to open the season, moving within one of matching the worst start in NBA history with a 109-96 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Friday night.
Rookie Tyreke Evans had 21 points and eight rebounds, and Beno Udrih also scored 21 for Sacramento, which never trailed on its way to winning back-to-back games following a four-game losing streak.
After losing to the team that had the worst record in the NBA a season ago, the Nets need to beat the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday at Staples Center to avoid matching the record for futility held by the expansion Miami Heat (1988-89) and the Los Angeles Clippers (1999).
The potential record-setter would come at home against former Net Jason Kidd and Dallas on Wednesday.
Brook Lopez had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and Devin Harris scored 25 points on 6-for-22 shooting for the Nets, who matched the longest losing streak in franchise history with their latest loss.
Things were so bad for the Nets that they missed five shots near the basket in one 15-second span, including three that were blocked. Nets coach Lawrence Frank complained to the officials when Monty McCutcheon told him the defensive plays were all clean, asking incredulously at one point, ''All five?''
The return of all-star Harris to the starting lineup couldn't do the trick for the Nets. Harris, who missed 10 games with a groin injury, had come off the bench the past three games. He missed six of his first seven shots before helping the Nets get back into the game in the third quarter.
A Harris steal and dunk was part of a 16-4 run that helped New Jersey close a lead that had been 22 points in the first half down to 67-61 midway through the third quarter. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Udrih and Omri Casspi helped the Kings open the lead back up to 84-69 heading into the fourth.
New Jersey got it back down to six early in the period but never got any closer and lost for the 10th time in their last 11 trips to Arco Arena. Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 21 points for the Nets.
Casspi scored 18 points, making three of four free throws in the fourth quarter. Udrih added a layup that made it 104-94 with 1:05 remaining. Spencer Hawes had 16 points and 10 rebounds before being sidelined in the third quarter with a bruised right knee.
