0-17: Nets match worst start with loss to Lakers

[November 30, 2009]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The New Jersey Nets matched the worst start to an NBA season with their 17th straight loss Sunday night, with Kobe Bryant scoring 30 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' 106-87 victory.

A few hours after New Jersey fired coach Lawrence Frank, the undermanned Nets had little prayer of keeping up with the defending league champions, who won their sixth straight game.

Falling behind by 27 points in the first half despite clearly playing hard for temporary head coach Tom Barrise, the Nets matched the starts of the 1988-89 Miami Heat and the 1999 Los Angeles Clippers.

"I wish I could explain it," said New Jersey guard Chris Douglas-Roberts, who only lost 10 games in his three collegiate seasons at Memphis. "There's not really anything good out of this. I try to stay positive, but it's extremely hard to stay positive. All the things going on, it's depressing."

New Jersey must beat the Dallas Mavericks back home in the East Rutherford swamp on Wednesday night -- perhaps while playing for the club's third coach in three games -- to avoid sole possession of an embarrassing NBA record.

"I don't want to be associated with it," said Devin Harris, who scored 16 points for the Nets. "That's one record you don't ever want to be a part of."

Pau Gasol had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who cruised to their 12th win in 14 games. Jordan Farmar added 15 points as the Lakers made 13 of their 25 3-point attempts, including five by Bryant and three for Farmar.

Brook Lopez had 26 points and 12 rebounds for New Jersey, which went scoreless for nearly 4 1/2 minutes in the first quarter while Los Angeles posted 13 straight points to build a 27-10 lead.

Bryant's fourth 3-pointer of the first half put Los Angeles up 57-30 shortly before halftime. The Lakers led by 34 midway through the third quarter, and Bryant left the game with 4:14 left in the third.

"You don't wish that on anybody," Bryant said of the Nets' skid. "That's tough."

The NBA's lowest-scoring and worst-shooting team lived up to its dire statistics, managing just 60 points on 38.7-percent shooting in the first three periods before a strong fourth quarter against Los Angeles' reserves. Although New Jersey consistently tried to match up on defense, the Nets don't have a fraction of the Lakers' talent.

The Lakers' public address announcer recognized the Nets' historic loss after the game, though he had the decency to wait until New Jersey was in its locker room.

The Nets didn't wait until returning from their four-game West Coast trip before dumping Frank, the winningest coach in franchise history and the Eastern Conference's longest-tenured coach.

Although eight Nets already have missed multiple games this season with injuries after New Jersey traded star Vince Carter in the offseason, Frank was held responsible for the woeful start, which included three straight double-digit losses earlier on this trip. Guard Rafer Alston compared the Nets' roster to an awful poker hand, saying Frank was dealt "a pair of 2's, and he tried to fight."

Barrise, Frank's assistant since the start of his tenure in early 2004, could be just a one-game replacement. Nets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe -- who attended the game -- and assistant John Loyer are considered the top candidates to replace Frank for the rest of the season.

Barrise made the most of perhaps his only chance to be an NBA head coach. The former bench boss at Ramapo College in Mahwah, N.J., stood for nearly every minute of the game, clapping for his players' successes and stomping his feet in disgust at their many foibles.

NOTES: Shannon Brown scored six points on his 24th birthday. Farmar turns 23 on Monday. ... The Lakers played 11 of their first 15 games at home, and they opened another six-game homestand against the Nets. Los Angeles' curious schedule includes just four home games in all of March. ... Lakers coach Phil Jackson was a New Jersey assistant in the early 1980s when the club lost 15 games in a row. He said New Jersey made him a lucrative offer to be its head coach in 1999. ... Courtside fans included actors Jonah Hill, David Arquette and Jack Nicholson, who grew up in Neptune, N.J.

[Associated Press; By GREG BEACHAM]

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