WASHINGTON — The Nets changed their lineup to solve their slow starts.
But it was their sorry finish that cost them.
The Nets suffered a humbling 110-104 defeat to the woebegone Wizards at Capital One Arena, falling to one of the worst teams in the league.
Though coach Jacque Vaughn’s decision to pull leading scorer Cam Thomas from the starting lineup and replace him with gritty veteran Dorian Finney-Smith did appear to break their habit of slow starts, it was the endgame where they came up dreadfully short.
Despite leading by nine points in the third quarter, and 97-96 with 5:24 to play, the Nets gave up a 7-0 run — and all the momentum.
The Nets (15-17) never recovered, tipping off a four-game road trip in the worst way imaginable.
The Wizards (6-25) had come in losers of three straight and 11 of their last 13.
This team should have been easy pickings, but the Nets showed themselves incapable of picking them.
The Nets’ defense has been an abomination.
They allowed 50.5 percent shooting, with Kyle Kuzma scoring a game-high 26 points and Deni Avdija adding 21.
Mikal Bridges scored 19 points, while Spencer Dinwiddie added 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Thomas had 15 off the bench.
The Nets came in having dropped six of eight, conceding at least 121 points in each of those losses before this one.
Their defensive rating since their Dec. 14 loss in Denver was 123.4, third-worst in the league.
Friday was more of the same.
Vaughn pulled Thomas from the starting lineup (as predicted earlier this week in The Post) in favor of Finney-Smith.
Despite Thomas coming into Friday averaging a team-high 22.8 points, a unit of Thomas, Bridges, Dinwiddie, Nic Claxton and Cam Johnson was one of the least efficient in the NBA.
They were a staggering minus-66 in 140 minutes together, their minus-21.4 net rating dead last in the league of all units that had logged at least 100 minutes.
But that aforementioned lineup with Finney-Smith replacing Thomas had a plus-6.7 net rating in 115 minutes.
The Nets avoided digging a huge early hole, so at first the move appeared to work.
They trailed just 54-53 at the break and came back out of the locker room with a 12-2 run.
The Nets held Washington to 1 of 6 shooting, along with Daniel Gafford’s turnover and technical.
The latter handed Johnson a free throw to cap the blitz and give them a 65-56 lead with 8:20 left in the third.
In keeping with their recent play, it’s a lead the Nets couldn’t hold onto.
Mike Muscala’S 3-pointer put Washington back ahead at 87-86, and Delon Wright made it 89-86.
Bridges knotted it, and the Nets again led, 97-96, after Dinwiddie’s free throws with 5:39 to play.
That’s when they coughed up seven unanswered points to lose the momentum.
Kuzma hit a jumper, and former Net Landry Shamet got free for an and-one.
After Bridges missed a midrange jumper, Nic Claxton blocked a Kuzma layup attempt, but the Wizards forward got to loose ball for a putback and 103-97 lead.
A Kuzma 3-pointer padded it to 108-101, and the Nets never challenged again.