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The only carryover the Nets had from Tuesday night’s loss in Denver was making sure they didn’t play that way a second straight night.

They took care of the ball. They didn’t allow all those layups and dunks and actually committed some fouls to avoid easy scores inside against Portland.

More purposeful performances like this and the Nets may actually win a game. But for now they’re still searching for that first victory, still keeping alive the possibility of breaking the NBA’s record for most losses to start a season.

Their 15th straight defeat, 93-83 to Portland, should at least give the Nets a little hope. If the Nets play this way Friday at Sacramento, and get a little more from Devin Harris and Courtney Lee, the streak could end there.

If not,

This type of performance won’t help their embattled coach.

The Nets played sloppily, were careless with the ball and had no interior presence. They were thoroughly outplayed and out-talented by the Nuggets and fell, 101-87, in the opener of their Thanksgiving Week trip.

That makes it 14 in a row for the Nets to start this brutal season. Just six other teams have lost that many to open a campaign and now the Nets need three more to tie the all-time mark for the worst start in NBA history. This trip has three more games and that might be all Lawrence Frank has, too.

It’s no surprise the Nuggets won. They now have won 16 straight at home dating back to last season and they were playing the Nets after all. But how easily they won is what’s disconcerting and puts more heat

Thirteen games, 13 losses. Here are 13 reasons the Nets are in the position they are:

1. Bruce Ratner: Nice man, but his interests were in real estate opportunities and buildings, not building a championship team. He bought a contender and kept cutting payroll instead of letting Rod Thorn add quality pieces that could Nets over the top.

2. 2001 Draft-day Deal: This might be nitpicking because the Nets got Richard Jefferson and Jason Collins for Eddie Griffin, but the other player they chose from that trade was Brandon Armstrong when Gilbert Arenas was available.

3. Kidd’s input: The Nets always tried to make Jason Kidd happy, which isn’t a bad thing, but let management and coaches make the decisions. They traded Keith Van Horn and Todd MacCulloch for Dikembe Mutombo,

Devin Harris was back bouncing around, getting into the lane, crossing over, freezing defenders, setting up teammates and even threw down a driving dunk for good measure.

The groin that kept him out 10 games was fine. His legs were a little tired, but they should come around.

The Nets' first win –- that’s still on hold.

Harris’ impressive return wasn’t enough to end the Nets’ 12-game season-opening losing streak. It became an unlucky 13 after a 98-91 loss to the almost equally lowly Knicks today, another game that was winnable for the Nets.

You at least see how the offense can be different with Harris, how they can get easier baskets. He wore down a little, but his 12 points and seven assists in 26 minutes helped put the Nets in position to snap the skid.

Too bad the Nets lost Wednesday night in Milwaukee, especially after the Knicks won in Indiana, or Saturday’s game could have been a battle for the basement. Instead, as we wrote in today's Record, it’s a battle to avoid further embarrassment.

It’s a bad time for area basketball -- has been for a few years now. Earlier this decade, the Nets were on top of the Tri-State area. Now they’re at the bottom of the NBA with 12 losses in 12 games, and they’re looking up at everyone, including the Knicks.

It’s early, but not since the 2000-01 season, the pre-Kidd era, have the Nets finished below the Knicks in the standings. The Nets may surpass them at some point this season -- the Knicks only have two more victories than the winless Nets and they've been healthy.

Devin Harris went through a lengthy individual workout yesterday that all but green-lit his return. He has to go through practice tomorrow and if he clears that hurdle, the Nets should have their point guard back playing in Saturday’s game against the Knicks.

That could be the streak buster. We’re not going to say it’s 'The win,' because we’ve been wrong before.

Honestly, even with all the injuries it’s shocking the Nets haven’t won yet. The Minnesota and Charlotte games, when they were relatively healthy, were the games they had to have and should have had. Others were winnable but either players ran out of steam, they didn’t have enough talent, were buzzer-beaten or couldn’t score enough points.

Man, have the Nets missed Harris. They’re

Lawrence Frank spent most of pregame talking about how encouraged he was with everything he was seeing from his depleted team. Less than two hours later, Frank probably wished he could close his eyes or at least cover them.

The team that fought Miami to the final seconds before losing on a Dwyane Wade three with one-tenth of a second left on Saturday wasn’t the same one that played the Pacers last night.

These Nets battled but after it was too late and dropped to 0-11 after a 91-83 loss to the Indiana Pacers that wasn’t as close as the score would seem.

It wasn’t a lack of effort. The Nets played hard. We’ve seen many games where they fall behind early and never come back.

The Nets came back, despite having just eight guys. But they can’t afford to fall

MIAMI -- You could feel the Nets' pain after this crushing defeat. They'll get over it before the fans do, but you know this one hurt.

It hurt more than the three-point loss in Philadelphia when the Nets didn't get a last shot off. And more than the three-point loss at home against Philadelphia when the Nets didn't get a last shot off.

They probably hoped the same fate that had befallen them would do in the Heat. But the Nets have neither that luck nor someone by the name of Dwyane Wade on their team.

Wade almost didn't get a shot off as he fumbled the ball, but he picked it up and shot and made a 26-foot three from the right wing with one-tenth of a second left that handed the Nets an absolutely suffocating 81-80 defeat last night.

Chris Douglas-Roberts, who was under the basket and

ORLANDO -- The fans inside the Amway Arena were stunned, but not silent. They booed the home team because they couldn't believe the Magic were down 10 points to the Nets in the second period.

It was almost as if the Magic couldn't believe it either. The 10-point deficit became a two-point Orlando lead quickly. The Nets never led again and the crowd never booed again as they watched the Magic bury New Jersey, 88-72.

The Nets' ninth loss in nine games this season went pretty much like their last three when they were decimated, yet seemed to be on their way to defying the odds and winning.

But this game was very different because they weren't in it for the last nine minutes. As beat up as the Nets are this wasn't a night to praise their effort or defense or fight. They battled, yes, but