At least the Nets got a shot off this time, but it may not have been the one they wanted.

It’s easy to second-guess the Nets’ play-calling down three with less than 23 seconds to go. Coach Kiki Vandeweghe said he should have called something different, something a little less “tricky,” after the Nets dropped an 83-79 decision to the Sixers on Sunday night.

Like Friday’s game against the Wizards, that was a winnable game and one the Nets should have won -- if only they executed. It was the same story Sunday.

The Nets had a big lead early, lost it, couldn’t hit shots late and committed bad turnovers. This time, though, they didn’t miss free throws late.

But talk about history repeating itself, against Washington, the Nets were called for a 24-second shot-clock violation with 1:18 left and them trailing by two. Last night, with 1:51 left, the Nets trailed 76-74 and had another 24-second shot-clock violation.

You’ve got to get a shot off. Time and situation is something you’re always taught, but mistakes like these are the reason the Nets have lost 42 of the 46 games they’ve played thus far.

It would have been much worse if the Nets didn’t get a shot off later in this game that the Sixers desperately were trying to give away. Despite the Nets’ shooting 14-of-52 for a 30-minute span over the last three quarters and that inexcusable no-shot turnover, they were down, 80-77, with the ball and 22.8 ticks left on the game clock.

Flashback to the Nov. 6 game in Philadelphia, a game the Nets led by eight and trailed by three in the closing seconds. Rookie Terrence Williams had the ball on the left wing and as he went up for the game-tying three, Andre Iguodala slapped the ball away and the Nets never got off a shot.

Less than a week later, in a low-scoring game similar to this one where players took assault on the backboards and rims, the Nets were down three in the final seconds and were taking the ball out of bounds from the side.

(Consider these names as you read this).

Rafer Alston, who has since been bought out, was supposed to throw the ball into Trenton Hassell, who hardly plays now, and he was supposed to kick it out to Bobby Simmons, who never plays. Alston threw the pass to Sixers forward Thaddeus Young, so once again no shot for the Nets.

Now, a different cast of characters led to a different result -- somewhat.

The Nets got a shot off this time, but Jarvis Hayes’ three from the right elbow wasn’t close. Vandeweghe said he should have run something different instead of a play that’s better equipped if you’re coming full-court.

The Nets took it from half-court and the play, which called for multiple flare screens where the end result is a catch-and-shoot three. Hayes is the Nets’ best catch-and-shoot player on the team and was having a strong game with 18 points, including 4-of-7 from deep.

But the Sixers switched everything and the shot was contested by Iguodala. Air ball, Nets lose.

“We thought we were going to get it done,” Hayes said.

“I’m going to take responsibility for that because we tried to run something that perhaps was a little tricky, that we weren’t familiar with,” Vandeweghe said.

At least the Nets got a shot off this time. But it wouldn’t have been necessary if the Nets made some of their easier shots, the open shots, layups, mini-hooks from inside the paint.

The Sixers were awful, missing 18 of their last 21 shots. Had the Nets made a few more of theirs, the Sixers would have had to foul them at the end instead of the other way around. But this is just another reason the Nets are 4-42.

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