The Nets ran into another team without their best player and they might as well have run into a brick wall. They put up enough bricks to build a wall, anyway.

The Hawks still are a good team without Joe Johnson, but this was a humiliating defeat because as soon as Jamal Crawford got hot in the second quarter the Nets melted and suffered their 60th loss already.

Bad shooting, no energy and overall resignation led to last night’s 108-84 defeat. It’s fair to note the Nets were without Devin Harris.

But they won a game earlier this year – their last victory at home – without Harris and backcourt mate Courtney Lee. Granted, it was against the Clippers, but still. This was a Nets’ team we haven’t seen in a while, one that showed little life, that didn’t have any comeback left in them.

We’ve seen the Nets come back from 16 down against the Knicks and win; 21 down at Memphis and have several shots at taking the lead in the fourth, and 16 down at Oklahoma City to get within four in crunch time.

The Nets, who shot 30-for-78, had nothing left in them after Crawford sizzled. He led a 19-5 run to end the first half that put Atlanta up by 16. The lead grew to 26 in the fourth, which was one more than what Crawford finished with in 29 minutes off the bench.

If there was one good thing to take away from this was rookie Terrence Williams committed a hard foul on Maurice Evans with 13.9 seconds left in the game. The Hawks had a couple of showtime dunks in the fourth and Evans was about to deliver another one and Williams prevented it.

The Nets could have used some of this against Luis Scola the other night and in several other games when teams were going inside and getting whatever they wanted.

"It’s basketball," Williams said. "It’s never frustration. A player and a team can only take so much. You know you’re down and the other team’s going to win and everybody’s going to dunk. That’s not the type of basketball I grew up playing."

The Nets have been missing that mentality most of this season. Better late than never. But the Nets have to focus on getting those three wins everyone has been talking and writing about.

The players say they don’t want to be that team, but they didn’t show it against the Hawks.

“It was the first game in a very long time that I just felt like we didn't have energy,” interim coach Kiki Vandeweghe said. “Unfortunately, we aren't good enough to play without any energy.”

Unfortunately for the Nets, they’ve played many nights without it, just not that many recently.

We’ll know tonight, when they’re in Philadelphia, if they really don’t want to be that team. The Sixers are awful and playing even worse. They won’t have Thaddeus Young or Marreese Speights tonight and Lou Williams is a game-time decision.

All have had good moments against the Nets. (Then again, who hasn’t?). Harris’ status is up in the air. He didn’t travel to Philly, but if he feels better today he could get a ride down the Turnpike.

Either way, the Nets need to show they care about avoiding the record for worst season in NBA history. They could, without Harris, against the Sixers.

The Nets played a back-to-back where as the Sixers had off. But the truth is many Nets took the night off anyway, so they should be rested.

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