In a game the Nets couldn’t afford to lose, they couldn’t stop losing shooters.
They left Luke Kennard open over and over.
They bricked free throws time and again. And by the time it was done, they had suffered a 106-102 defeat to woebegone Memphis before a crowd of 15,847 at Barclays Center.
Make that what was left of the Grizzlies, an injury-riddled revenant of a team that looked more like a MASH unit than an NBA squad.
The Nets (24-37) didn’t just fail to build on the momentum of beating Atlanta in back-to-back contests, they did their best to give it away.
They fell to 2½ games out of the final Eastern Conference play-in spot, with the Hawks facing the Knicks on Tuesday night at the Garden.
“We got in a fight, we didn’t swing, we didn’t keep swinging,” interim head coach Kevin Ollie said. “And when you don’t keep swinging, you get knocked out. And they knocked us out. Starting with me, coaching staff, players.”
Memphis (21-41) had lost five straight — not to mention having lost Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart and Jaren Jackson Jr. to injury, Jackson shortly before tipoff. But none of that helped the Nets.
They hit just 15 of 27 from the foul line, and Mikal Bridges was held to just 14 points on 4-for-14 shooting.
They repeatedly got lost on shooters, letting Kennard — the one player they absolutely, positively had to stay attached to — score a game-high 25 points on 6 of 9 from behind the arc.
Far too many of those looks were wide open, the Nets not showing the cohesion Ollie had hoped for.
“We didn’t pay enough to get this win,” Ollie said. “That goes for coaches; that goes for everybody. We’ve got to pay the cost for the win, and that’s effort.”
The Nets trailed 71-63 with 5:53 left in the third quarter after Kennard hit another 3-pointer.
The deficit was still 75-68 after a Santi Aldama tip-in with four minutes left in the third before the Nets finally strung together some stops.
Nine unanswered points gave the Nets a lead, albeit all too briefly.
Lonnie Walker IV blocked a driving layup attempt by Jake LaRavia, with the Nets coming the other way.
Nic Claxton (team-high 21 points, six rebounds) threw down a vicious dunk, capping the run and giving the Nets a 77-75 lead with 2:22 left in the third.
But Claxton picked up an ill-advised technical, slamming the ball to the ground with his momentum.
The call not only got him promptly pulled, but handed the Grizzlies a 5-0 mini-run to close the quarter.
The Nets went into the fourth down 80-77.
The Nets clawed back, pulling even at 88-all when Cam Johnson drilled a 3 with 8:41 to play. But they never got over the hump.
The Nets immediately coughed up six unanswered points to fall behind for good. Fittingly, it was Kennard that put the final nail in their proverbial coffin.
Kennard shook free for a midrange jumper that made it 94-88. The clock read 4:43 to play, but the game was over.
Kennard’s 3-pointer padded it to 99-90 with three minutes remaining, simply icing on the Grizzlies’ cake.
A 10-4 run — capped by a Dennis Schroder (13 points, nine assists) free throw with 20 seconds left — got the Nets within three.
Bridges got fouled with 7 seconds to go while attempting a 3, down 105-100.
He sank the first two, and Ollie curiously had him miss the third on purpose. But a lane violation gave Memphis the ball. Kennard iced it at the line.