Nets crushed by Wizards for third straight loss that comes with tanking silver lining

· New York Post

Maybe Brooklyn’s tank is still alive.

In a clash sure to have lottery ramifications, the shorthanded Nets lost 119-99 to Washington on Friday before a crowd of 16,486 at Capital One Arena.

After having won seven of 10, Brooklyn (10-22) has gone cold and dropped three straight.

They’re currently fifth in the lottery standings and have pulled within 1 ½ games of the fourth-place Wizards, a clear silver lining in this defeat.

Friday’s tilt underscored just how a player or two can tilt a tanking result.

The Nets were without Michael Porter Jr., Egor Dëmin and Terance Mann on Thursday vs. Golden State.

A night later, Dëmin and Mann were back on the floor, but Porter was still out sick and joined on the unavailable list by center Nic Claxton (personal reasons) and Cam Thomas.

Brooklyn fell to 0-6 without Porter, his outsized impact relevant to the decisions GM Sean Marks will have to make by the trade deadline.

The Bucks, Pistons and Clippers have all been reported as teams potentially interested in trading for Porter, but now Jake Fischer reported Golden State has also had internal conversations about the Nets forward.

The Nets offense craters without Porter. They trailed by 28 points, shot just 39.5 percent overall and 6 of 29 from deep.

They even got outscored 28-20 off turnovers, undercutting their own defensive effort to allow 51.1 percent shooting.

Day’Ron Sharpe looks to move the ball during the Nets’ Jan. 2 loss to the Wizards. NBAE via Getty Images

“I like the fight all the way through, even towards the end. … The guys never gave up. Obviously a lot of things we’ve got to do better, starting with the defense. You see the numbers? That’s not good,” said Jordi Fernández. “And then, the turnovers, especially in transition. When you turn the ball over in transition, it’s like a four- to a six-point swing. … I think those swings were big every time.”

Day’Ron Sharpe got his first start of the season for Claxton, and had 14 points, nine rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

Mann, Ziaire Williams and rookie Drake Powell all also had 14.

Danny Wolf’s shot gets blocked during the Nets’ Jan. 2 loss to the Wizards. NBAE via Getty Images

“One thing we know is Day’Ron is going to play extremely hard,” said Fernández. “And going from the minutes he’s played to pretty much 30 minutes, your body has to adjust to that. So it’s a great opportunity for him… but also being careful with that.”

Staten Island’s Justin Champagnie had a game-high 20 points and Alex Sarr added 19 points and five blocks for Washington.

But it’s been CJ McCollum (17 points, six boards) and Khris Middleton that have helped change the Wizards’ fortunes of late.

Washington opened the season 3-20, including 14 straight losses. But they’re 6-4 since, with veterans McCollum and Middleton leading the way. The Wizards are 8-14 with Middleton and a horrid 1-10 without him.

McCollum had 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the first quarter when the Nets fell behind by 37-24.

Brooklyn never rallied.

Dëmin had 10 points, eight rebounds, a steal and a block.

Nolan Traore had a bounce-back game after being chastised by Fernández, totaling 12 points and five assists — both career highs — two steals and two blocks. The French rookie used his speed and attacked the paint, and eschewed stepback 3s.

“I never told him to not take 3s. I want him to take the right shot. I wanted to make the right play. He had five assists to two turnovers, which is a very good and efficient ratio,” said Fernández. “I liked the aggressiveness, he made winning plays at the rim defensively.”