The Nets got the message that their effort needs to improve, but even when they played harder and with more energy than they have in almost two weeks they still were blown out.

This isn’t good for their self-esteem or confidence that if they do the right things they can win another game. Of course, you have to take into account the opponent.

The Nets played at Phoenix, and the Suns needed a win. They had lost four straight and didn’t want to extend the skid against the worst team in the NBA. No one wants to be the team that losses to the Nets.

The Suns didn’t need to worry because their star power and execution were far too much for the Nets to handle and resulted in a 118-94 rout.

If the Nets play this way in their next game, at Golden State, maybe they can pull out a win. But against Steve Nash (12 points, 15 assists) and Amare Stoudemire (27 points, 10-of-15 shooting) the Nets were going to need to be perfect and they were far from it.

So they suffered loss No. 38 in 41 games, their ninth defeat in a row, fifth straight by double-digits and third in this stretch by at least 20 points.

Imagine what would have happened had the Nets not started the game with the right mindset, looking to steal a win and earn back some of their dignity.

The Nets showed some improvement compared to their last three that either ended in the first or second period. The Nets led 47-46 in the second on Wednesday night and were only down four early in the third period.

They made it to the second half before their lack of poise, defense and mental toughness reared their ugly heads.

The game started to get away in the third before Brook Lopez led a late charge at the end of the quarter, which allowed some people to believe that the Nets might have a run left in them. But they didn’t. The Suns ran away in the fourth despite Nash and Stoudemire staying seated.

"I think we competed definitely through the first half," coach Kiki Vandeweghe said on the YES Network. "For three quarters I think we did what we wanted to. We had a couple of minutes we didn’t play. Fourth quarter we ran out of gas.

"We were competing harder than we had been. I don’t think we were used to playing quite that hard on defense."

No, the Nets hadn’t been playing that hard on defense in some time, and that’s what makes all the prior performances unacceptable. There is no excuse for that.

Yet, these are professional athletes. They should not get tired because they suddenly were playing defense. That’s an excuse, too.

The Nets don’t need any more excuses. They played with effort, more than they have for the last several games.

If they don’t backslide maybe they can win a game, maybe it comes against the Warriors, another high-scoring team that the Nets better be ready to defend unless they want their third double-digit losing streak of the season. The better hope they don’t run out of gas because they played a little defense.

Al Iannazzone covers the Nets for The Record (Bergen County, N.J.)