Not even Devin Harris could save the Nets on Saturday.
The all-star point guard returned, but the Nets had no answer for the New York Knicks down the stretch and fell, 98-91.
The Nets trailed for the majority of the game, but closed to within 83-82 after Terrence Williams drained a three-pointer with 5:09 left.
The Nets' inability to make a stop on the defensive end sealed their fate. Al Harrington nailed a straightaway three-pointer to put the Knicks ahead, 94-87.
"We made some defensive miscues towards the end and obviously some rebounding situations as well," said Lawrence Frank, whose team dropped to 0-13.
New Jersey has been in every game and had a chance to win, but the Nets cannot get over the hump.
"We're getting closer and closer, but late in the game, we just can't find the stops we need to in order to get over the top," Devin Harris said. "As a team, you have to learn how to win those close games, and it looks like we're going to play in a lot of them."
The Knicks received balanced scoring with six players scoring in double figures. Al Harrington and Danilo Gallinari each gave the Knicks a team-high 17 points. Gallinari paced the New York offense with three three-pointers.
For the Nets, Harris' return is a much needed first step towards winning a game. He had been sidelined after the first two games with a groin strain.
Harris split the Knicks' defense and soared through the lane for a one-handed slam with 2:20 remaining in the second quarter. Harris finished the game with 12 points and seven assists in 26 minutes of action.
Harris delivered a solid performance in his first game back, but Frank still has limited expectations after his long layoff.
"It's going to take a couple of weeks for him to get his conditioning," Frank said. "We're going to have to play him in short stretches, but I thought he did a very good job [today]."
Offensively, Chris Douglas-Roberts paced the Nets again with a game-high 24 points on 11-of-19 shooting. Brook Lopez notched another double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Terrence Williams scored 17.
Douglas-Roberts is one Net that has taken this losing streak particularly hard. The Nets are approaching the 1988-89 Miami Heat's NBA record for worst start in a season at 0-17.
"It weighs on you. It's like you have a monkey on your back that you can't get off," Douglas-Roberts said. "I really can't describe the feeling I have right now. I take every loss very hard, but this many losses without a win, I really don't know what to feel."
Douglas-Roberts is not looking ahead at the west-coast trip, preferring to focus solely on Denver.
"I'm looking at it as the next game. As hard as it is, I'm trying to get out record out of the picture. I'm just trying to take it one game at a time," Douglas-Roberts said. "That's all I can do, that's all any of us can do."
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