SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Coming out of the gift part of the schedule, now the Nets begin the gauntlet.
And Monday night wasn’t the start they wanted.
The Nets opened a brutal five-game West Coast swing with a 131-118 loss to the Kings before a sellout crowd of 17,794 at Golden 1 Center.
The Nets (12-10) had started to look better on defense in winning six of seven, although that came by protecting the rim and the paint at all cost.
That has left them vulnerable from deep on occasion, and the Kings punished that Achilles’ heel mercilessly, early and often.
Allowing eye-watering 25-for-45 shooting from behind the arc, the Nets fell behind by as much as 21.
Despite making several rallies to get back within a couple of buckets, they kept conceding backbreaking 3-pointers.
Mikal Bridges had a team-high 22 points, five rebounds and five assists.
But Cam Thomas’ 18 points came on an inefficient 7-for-20 shooting, and center Nic Claxton had a tough night against Domantas Sabonis (15 points, 16 rebounds, nine assists), while De’Aaron Fox poured in a game-high 29 points for Sacramento.
The Nets fell behind early, allowing seven unanswered to trail 11-4 when Sabonis found Keegan Murray for a layup less than four minutes in.
They never got out of that hole.
Brooklyn trailed 26-18 after an odd first quarter that saw the Nets penetrate but shoot just 2 of 8 in the restricted area.
That deficit reached 15 in the second, at 43-28 on Sabonis’ layup.
The Nets cut it to four, and Dorian Finney-Smith’s 3-pointer made it 81-74 with 4:34 left in the third.
But that’s as close as they got, giving up a 7-0 run.
Murray’s running 3-pointer made it 89-74 and sent Jacque Vaughn scurrying for a timeout.
It didn’t help.
The deficit swelled in the fourth, to 129-108 on a Trey Lyles 3.
Things won’t get any easier for the Nets, at least not for awhile.
The Nets’ last seven foes during their 6-1 hot streak had been just 64-87 coming into Monday, an aggregate .424 winning percentage that would be outside even the Eastern Conference play-in and in lottery territory.
All but two had losing records.
But the Nets came into the Kings matchup just 5-7 against teams that were .500 or better.
Now make that 5-8, and counting.
Next up Wednesday night is a trip to face their former superstar Kevin Durant and his new Suns team, marking Bridges and Cam Johnson’s return to Phoenix.
Then comes arguably the toughest possible assignment on the second night of a back-to-back, against Nikola Jokic and defending-champion Denver at mile-high altitude.
That’s three straight winning teams, followed by Steph Curry and always-dangerous Golden State and finally Utah.
That makes for a tough trip.
“Obviously, we’re about to play five really good teams,” Spencer Dinwiddie said before the game. “You always want to start a road trip off strong. [Vaughn] hit us, making sure we continue to defensive rebound. I mean, obviously with Sabonis that’s a difficult task, and [play with pace] as well.”
Bridges set a lower bar.
“Play hard and win games, man,” Bridges said. “It’s going to be tough, but I know we’re ready for it. I’m excited. I like playing on the road: I think we all do.
“So, go out, get some wins, you know? For me just don’t come back less than .500, that’s how I feel. Obviously, I want to win every single game, but that’s just a mindset, just don’t. If you lose some, it’ll definitely be some tough, fighting games, but just don’t come back under .500.”